Price at $608 million each
DryShips Inc , a dry bulk shipper and oil and natural gas driller, has added options for two more drillships with a base price of $608 million each, Wells Fargo Securities said.
The Greece-based company now has three options with Samsung Heavy Industries , and if all of them are exercised, DryShips’ fleet will comprise two semi-submersible rigs and 10 drillships.
This will make DryShips one of the largest pure play ultra-deep water drillers in the world amid a resurgence in drilling for oil even in the harshest of environments.
“While DryShips addressed the potential for its involvement in M&A in the drilling space, it reiterated its desire to remain a high spec, pureplay ultradeep water driller vehicle, and would not go after any transactions that would dilute the quality of its asset base,” analyst Michael Webber said.
Webber also said the planned U.S. listing of DryShips’ Ocean Rig unit would likely be delayed till August due to a regulatory review process. DryShips had targeted a June-July listing.
The company’s shares have lost more than a quarter of their value this year, largely on weakness in the dry bulk market. The stock inched up about 2 percent to $4.03 before the bell on Monday.
Source: Reuters