Marine Accurate Well inks restructuring terms, seeks bondholder OK

By Caroline Salls

Pittsburgh, March 16 – Marine Accurate Well ASA is asking holders of its 9½% second-lien callable bond issue 2013/2018 to vote on the terms of a financial restructuring agreement reached with its senior lenders, according to a notice released by bond trustee Nordic Trustee ASA.

The trustee said Marine Accurate was awarded a new drilling contract in December, but the combination of the level of compensation due under the contract and the limited duration of the contract “will not remedy the company’s financial challenges.”

As a result, the trustee said the company will not be able to repay its debt in full without restructuring its capital structure.

Under the proposed restructuring, the company’s share capital would be reduced to zero through the cancellation of all outstanding shares.

All $161.4 million in outstanding bonds would be converted into new ordinary shares.

Marine Accurate’s rig, rights and obligations under its credit facility and all other assets will be transferred to a new wholly owned subsidiary.

Some shareholders have guaranteed a senior bank facility for new shares to be issued under a private placement.

The maturity date of the company’s senior bank facility will be extended to Oct. 31, 2019.

In addition, $25 million in new funding will be raised by the new company under a subordinated interest-free convertible working capital facility from the participating guarantors.

Any interest accrued on outstanding bonds between the April 3 interest payment date and the completion of the debt-for-equity swap will be cancelled and discharged in full without any compensation to bondholders.

Marine Accurate will hold 24.2% of the shares in the new company, Rig Invest, LLC will hold 37.8%, Borgstein AS and Meteva AS will each hold 14%, and a previous bondholder will hold 10%.

The bondholders’ meeting is scheduled for March 30.

Ulsteinvik, Norway-based Marine Accurate builds and owns special purpose semi-submersible rigs for heavy well intervention operations.

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