The shareholders of Norwegian driller Northern Offshore approved a takeover deal by China's Shangdong Offshore.
The acquisition will be done by amalgamation according to the law of Bermuda for US$0.96 per share, valuing Northern at $164.4 million.
After the acquisition the Northern Offshore company will be delisted from the Oslo Stock Exchange and will stop shares trading. The main shareholder in the Norwegian offshore company is John Fredriksen, owner of the oil tanker company Frontline.
“The acquisition of Northern Offshore is a positive step in our vision of building a high-performing offshore drilling organization to meet the current and future needs of the Global E&P sector,” said Chinese company Shandong Offshore.
Northern Offshore currently owns four drilling rigs operating in North Sea, South Asia and West Africa. Also among the fleet is one floating production unit and two high spec LeTourneau Super 116E jackup rigs under construction.
