Schlumberger Takes Borr Stake
Tuesday 28 March 2017
Schlumberger has taken an ownership stake in Norwegian drilling start-up Borr Drilling through a new investment fund launched by the oilfield services giant.
It follows an equity issue by Borr to raise $800 million towards its recent $1.35 billion acquisition of Transocean’s entire jack-up fleet of 15 units that was backed by a group of investors.
It has now emerged that Schlumberger participated in the offering, with chief executive Paal Kibsgaard revealing at a New Orleans conference on Monday that its newly created special venture fund established to secure more activity for the contractor had made the investment in Borr.
The company was reported by Norwegian business daily Finansavisen to have paid $220 million for a 20% shareholding in the Oslo-based rig newcomer, launched towards the end of last year by investor Tor Olav Troim, the former right-hand man of shipping, offshore and seafood billionaire John Fredriksen.
Kibsgaard said the goal of the fund was to “help generate more E&P investments and to secure preferred supplier agreements for the related activity”.