LUXEMBOURG--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Pacific Drilling S.A. (NYSE: PACD) announced today that it has signed a
$1 billion senior secured credit facility agreement to finance
construction of the Pacific Sharav and Pacific Meltem. The
term loan made pursuant to the credit facility will have a maturity of 5
years from the delivery date of the Pacific Meltem. A portion of
the funding will be provided before delivery of the vessels, with all
drawdowns from the facility subject to satisfaction of customary
conditions precedent. The transaction was led and structured by Citibank
and DNB, and supported by the Norwegian export credit agencies
Garanti-Instituttet for Eksportkreditt (GIEK) and Eksportkreditt Norge
AS. Also acting as Mandated Lead Arrangers were ABN AMRO, ING, SEB and
Standard Chartered Bank.
“We are pleased to announce the signing of this credit facility and
appreciate the efforts of the lending group in enabling us to meet our
goal of securing long-term financing for our 6th and 7th
drillships,” stated Pacific Drilling CEO Chris Beckett. "Our strong
relationships with leading commercial banks and export credit agencies
should allow us to balance our financing sources and costs as we
continue to grow our asset base."
Legal counsel for the company was Vinson & Elkins LLP, and legal counsel
for the lenders was Holland & Knight.
About Pacific Drilling
With its best-in-class drillships and highly experienced team, Pacific
Drilling is a fast growing company that is committed to becoming the
industry’s preferred ultra-deepwater drilling contractor. Pacific
Drilling’s fleet of eight ultra-deepwater drillships will represent one
of the youngest and most technologically advanced fleets in the world.
The company currently operates four drillships under customer contract,
and has one drillship on order and three drillships under construction
at Samsung, two of which are under customer contract. For more
information about Pacific Drilling, including our current Fleet Status,
please visit our website at www.pacificdrilling.com.
Statements that are not historical facts in this press release are
forward-looking statements and are subject to certain risks,
uncertainties and assumptions and consequently actual results may differ
materially from those indicated or implied by such forward-looking
statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they
are made, and we undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise
any of them in light of new information, future events or otherwise.
Source: Pacific Drilling