Vantage Drilling Co. retained Lazard Freres & Co. to offer advice with respect to financing and strategic opportunities. The board of directors has retained Lazard to evaluate financing opportunities, strengthen and expand management's analysis of the changing marketplace and provide an independent resource for evaluating the company's strategic plans. The outcome of this process cannot be determined at this time and might not be determined in the near term, reports Vantage, which does not anticipate disclosure of developments concerning the process until it determines that disclosure is necessary or appropriate.
Paul Bragg, chairman and chief executive officer, says, "Over the past year and a half, our strong operating performance has allowed us to maintain our commitment to the retirement of debt, resulting in the repayment of over $300 million of outstanding debt. In accordance with this strategy, we have continued to retire debt during the second quarter, and anticipate that we will continue to opportunistically repurchase debt going forward. Given that our debt continues to trade well below its face value, we have retained Lazard to explore alternatives to take advantage of what we view as a current market opportunity for the near and long term benefit of the company."
Vantage owns a fleet of three ultra-deepwater drillships, including the Platinum Explorer, the Titanium Explorer and the Tungsten Explorer, as well as an additional ultra deepwater drillship, the Cobalt Explorer, now under construction, and four Baker Marine Pacific Class 375 ultra-premium jackup drilling rigs. Vantage also provides construction supervision services and operates and manages drilling units owned by others.
Image: Vantage Titanium Explorer / Vantage Drilling
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