Awilco Drilling PLC: Annual Report 2022 and Cancellation of Subsequent Offering
Please find enclosed the Annual Report and Financial Statements 2022 for Awilco Drilling PLC.
Reference is made to the stock exchange releases of 4 December 2020 and 28 December 2020 from Awilco Drilling PLC (“Awilco Drilling” or the “Company”) regarding the termination of the newbuilding contract between Awilco Rig 2 Pte. Ltd. (“AR2”) and Keppel FELS Limited (“KFELS”) for the construction of a semi-submersible drilling rig, hull number B382, as a result of breaches under the Vessel Construction Contract and for Force Majeure.
The arbitration case between AR2 and Keppel FELS related to the termination of the contract of hull number B382 is currently ongoing. Those proceedings are confidential, and hence it is not possible for the Company to make any comments related to the case. As the Company currently has no other ongoing business, no presentation, webcast or conference call will be held in connection with the publishing of the attached Annual Report.
Reference is also made to the stock exchange release by the Company on 22 December 2022 regarding the completed private placement of 3,922,880 new Sponsored Norwegian Depository Receipts (SNDRs) in the Company at a subscription price of NOK 20 per share (the “Private Placement”).
The stock exchange release on 22 December 2022 made reference to the Company’s Board of Directors intention to carry out a subsequent offering of up to 980,720 new SNDRs. The subsequent offering was to be directed towards shareholders in the Company as of close of trading on 21 December 2022, as registered in the VPS on 23 December 2022, who were not allocated SNDRs in the Private Placement, SNDRs at the same subscription price as the Private Placement at NOK 20 per SNDR. Based on the current market price of the Company’s SNDRs at NOK 14 per share and given that the SNDRs have traded below the subscription price of NOK 20 for an extended period, the Board of Directors has resolved to cancel the intended subsequent offering. This is on the basis that the subscription price in the subsequent offering would have been higher than the current SNDR price, and those shareholders who were not allocated SNDRs in the Private Placement should therefore be able to acquire SNDRs in the market at a lower price than the subscription price. Hence, the Board of Directors is of the opinion that the cancellation of the intended subsequent offering is protective of the Company’s shareholders since it contributes to avoid the risk of shareholders subscribing for shares at a higher price than the current market price for those SNDRs.
Aberdeen, 26 May 2023
For further information please contact:
Eric Jacobs, CEO of Awilco Drilling PLC
Phone: +47 9529 2271
Cathrine Haavind, Investor Relations of Awilco Drilling PLC
Phone: +47 9342 8464
Email: ch@awilcodrilling.com
This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to Section 5-12 the Norwegian Securities Trading Act.
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