Shipping tycoon John Fredriksen has reached an agreement with a majority of creditors over a restructuring plan for oil rig firm Seadrill, according to U.S. court documents, Reuters reported. The company, once the world’s largest offshore driller by market value, filed for chapter 11 protection with debt and liabilities of over $10 billion last September after a sharp drop in oil prices in 2014 cut demand for rigs. Under an amended plan, supported by 99 percent of its bank lenders and about 70 percent of unsecured creditors, including South Korean shipyards, the company will raise $1.08 billion in new capital via the issuance of new secured notes and equity. Seadrill will issue $880 million in new secured notes, up from $860 million planned previously, and $200 million in new equity, the same level as previously planned. Unsecured bondholders which contested the original restructuring plan by Fredriksen and private equity firm Centerbridge Partners, will get a bigger stake in the company, one bondholder source told Reuters.
