Offshore driller Ocean Rig UDW Inc. is preparing to explore a sale amid pressure from some of its largest shareholders to review its strategic alternatives, Reuters. The move will be a key test of Ocean Rig’s value after it emerged from chapter 15 bankruptcy in September. Its business has suffered as low oil prices have made offshore drilling less economically attractive and pushed more oil exploration onshore. Based in Grand Cayman, Ocean Rig specializes in ultra-deepwater and harsh environment projects undertaken by oil exploration companies in the offshore drilling industry. Within a month of exiting bankruptcy, Ocean Rig’s largest shareholder, hedge fund Elliott Management Corp, called for the company to review strategic options, adding it planned to recruit the company’s second largest shareholder, BlueMountain Capital, in its efforts. It was joined a day later by Avenue Capital Group, the company’s fifth-largest shareholder, in demanding that it evaluates a possible sale. These three funds collectively own 39 percent of Ocean Rig’s stock.
