Offshore rig company Seadrill has received two additional non-binding proposals from bondholders for a debt restructuring after the Norwegian firm filed for U.S. chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in September, Reuters reported today. The two indications of interest came from bondholders seeking alternatives to the firm’s own plan, Seadrill said in court documents submitted late on Friday. The company’s own plan is backed by holders of 99 percent of Seadrill’s bank loans and 40 percent of its bonds, and was submitted by its main shareholder, Norwegian-born billionaire John Fredriksen, and a group of hedge funds. It offered holders of $2.3 billion of Seadrill’s unsecured bonds a 14.3 percent stake in the restructured firm after dilution, and only a 1.9 percent stake for current shareholders. As a way to show the U.S. bankruptcy court that there was no better plan, Seadrill’s advisors have contacted 94 investors, including 15 oil rig companies, 45 financial investors and seven bondholders. The two indications of interest received so far came from bondholders, and still required substantial impairment of unsecured creditors, Seadrill said. Seadrill didn’t name the bondholders behind the alternative proposals, but it was previously reported that two groups of bondholders were preparing to challenge the official plan.
