Borr Drilling to acquire five jack-up rigs from Noble Corp. for $360M

Borr Drilling (BORR) has entered into an agreement to acquire five premium jack-up rigs from Noble Corporation (NE), consisting of three Friede & Goldman JU-3000N design rigs and two Gusto MSC CJ50 design rigs, for a total purchase price of $360M. These rigs have complementary specifications and geographic footprint to Borr Drilling’s existing fleet, enabling the company to leverage its best-in-class platform to maximize the value of these assets while offering our customers a larger and versatile fleet. Upon completion of the acquisition, the company’s fleet size will increase from 24 to 29 rigs, further strengthening its position as the owner of the youngest premium jack-up fleet globally. Two of the rigs will be chartered back to the seller on a bareboat basis for a period of 12 months allowing the seller to complete the current drilling contracts for these rigs. The bareboat contracts earnings are net of operating costs, providing the company with earnings and cashflow certainty in the period. The rigs are expected to generate total earnings of $29M before debt service.