Norton Rose advised Standard Chartered Bank as coordinating bank and other lenders on the USD1.85 billion bridge financing to SapuraKencana Drilling Pte. Ltd. as part of the USD2.9 billion acquisition comprising of both debt and equity elements by SapuraKencana of the Seadrill tender rig business involving 18 offshore rigs in total.
The deal spanned several jurisdictions including Bermuda, Labuan, Malaysia, Singapore, UK, Norway, Indonesia, Brunei, Panama, USA and Trinidad. This is one of the most significant deals in the Transport/Financial Institutions/Oil & Gas sectors in Asia this year where the Singapore banking team and the rest of the Norton Rose network worked closely to deliver a seamless product to Standard Chartered Bank’s shipping and leveraged finance teams and a syndicate of ten offshore and onshore lenders.
Singapore banking finance partner who led the transaction, Yu-En Ong commented:
“This was a complex and heavily-structured transaction with cross-border issues involving many jurisdictions. The transaction was challenging due to its intricate and multi-faceted nature but with a Norton Rose team compromising acquisition finance and ship finance team members ensured a smooth and successful closing.”
The Norton Rose team was led by Singapore banking partner Yu-En Ong and senior associate Grant Schulz and supported by banking associates Lishi Fong and Sue Ann Gan. The team was also supported by Singapore shipping team partners Gervais Green and Robert Driver in relation to shipping related matters.
