Bermuda

Seadrill’s main owner, billionaire John Fredriksen, is close to a deal with unsecured bondholders and South Korean shipyards on a restructuring plan for the rig operator, sources familiar with the talks said on Thursday. The Norwegian company, which last year filed for bankruptcy protection in a U.S. court, has been working with creditors since last month on a restructuring plan to bring in more than $1 billion in fresh funding, allow it to maintain its fleet of rigs and pay creditors and staff, Reuters reported. “The deal hasn’t been signed yet, but I‘m very hopeful...

Drilling rig company Seadrill said in a court filing it postponed an initial hearing on its restructuring plan to Feb. 26, buying more time to consider alternative plans, Reuters reported. Seadrill, one of the world’s largest offshore drilling rig operators, filed for bankruptcy in September after a steep drop in crude prices caused drastic cutbacks in oil company investment.

Drilling rig company Seadrill said in a court filing it postponed an initial hearing on its restructuring plan to Feb. 7, which sources told Reuters will give the company more time to consider alternative restructuring plans. Once the largest drilling rig operator by market value, Seadrill filed for bankruptcy protection in Texas on Sept. 12 after being hit hard by cutbacks in oil company investment following a steep drop in crude prices, Reuters reported. Wednesday’s court filing also said the deadline for objecting to Seadrill’s plan had been extended to Feb.

Owners of unsecured bonds in rig firm Seadrill have posted a cash deposit to back an alternative financial restructuring, paving the way for talks with the drilling operator over its future, the two sides said on Monday. Seadrill, once the largest drilling rig operator by market value, filed for bankruptcy protection in a U.S. court on Sept. 12 after being hit hard by cutbacks in oil company investment following a steep drop in crude prices, Reuters reported.

Seadrill Ltd’s $12.7 billion debt restructuring faces a critical phase as hold-out creditors prepare to challenge the plan put forward by John Fredriksen, its largest shareholder, as soon as a hearing next week, Reuters reported. The offshore drilling contractor, once the world’s largest by market capitalisation, filed for U.S. Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Texas on Sept. 12, presenting a plan backed by holders of 97 percent of its loans and 40 percent of its bonds.

Banks that provided a $4.75 billion loan to Turk Telekomunikasyon AS’s major shareholder hired Lazard Ltd. to advise them on the nation’s biggest ever default, according to three people with knowledge of the matter. The creditors also hired Raiffeisen Investment AG to advise in negotiations over the loan taken out by Ojer Telekomunikasyon AS, or Otas, which owns 55 percent of Turk Telekom, Bloomberg News reported. Other parties to the talks are the Turkish Treasury, which also has a stake in the company, and Saudi Telecom Co., which indirectly owns shares, the people said.

Seadrill Ltd., the offshore driller controlled by billionaire John Fredriksen, filed for bankruptcy protection after working out a deal with almost all its senior lenders to inject $1 billion of new money into the company, Bloomberg News reported. Under the proposal, lenders will extend the maturity on $5.7 billion in debt, with no amortization payments due until 2020. Should lower-ranking creditors join the proposal, $2.3 billion in unsecured bonds would be converted into a 15 percent stake in the company, Seadrill said in a statement.

Shares in Seadrill, the oil rig owner controlled by influential shipowner John Fredriksen, sank on Thursday after it said it plans to begin its Chapter 11 debt restructuring in the coming weeks, and revealed a $100m loss in the second quarter, the Financial Times reported. Seadrill has struggled since the 2014 oil price crash, and has been eyeing Chapter 11 proceedings since the beginning of this year. It said on Thursday it plans to conclude negotiations on its restructuring, which is “likely” to involve bankruptcy, “on or before September 12″.

Offshore drilling contractor Seadrill again delayed restructuring its $14 billion in debt and liabilities on Wednesday and reiterated that Chapter 11 bankruptcy was likely. Once the biggest offshore rig firm by market value and the crown jewel in the business empire of Norwegian billionaire John Fredriksen, Seadrill shares have fallen 99 percent from a September 2013 peak, Reuters reported. The company's business has struggled as energy firms have slashed investment due to a more than 50 percent fall in the price of crude oil since 2014.

Seadrill Ltd., once the crown jewel of billionaire John Fredriksen’s business empire, is at the mercy of short-term speculators as the biggest funds shun the offshore driller amid a struggle to avoid bankruptcy, Bloomberg News reported. “It’s trading at option value and day traders are the ones pushing the price up and down,” Anders Bergland, an analyst at Clarksons Platou Securities AS, said Tuesday, right after the company again warned shareholders and bond investors they were facing steep losses in any restructuring deal.