A U.S. judge said yesterday that he would approve Seadrill Ltd’s plan to exit its chapter 11 bankruptcy, in which the global offshore oil and gas drilling company would shed billions of dollars of debt and raise $1 billion in new investment, Reuters reported. Bankruptcy Judge David Jones in Houston overruled two minor objections to the reorganization plan during a 90-minute hearing. The plan extends maturities on more than $5 billion of bank loans and converts about $2.3 billion in bond debt into equity in a reorganized Seadrill. In addition, the plan will raise about $1 billion in new debt and equity through a rights offering led by Seadrill’s largest shareholder, John Fredriksen, and investment firm Centerbridge Credit Partners LP.
