Noble Corp., an operator of offshore oil-and-gas drilling rigs, has settled multibillion-dollar litigation over its 2014 spinoff of Paragon Offshore PLC, a critical step in Noble’s path to exiting bankruptcy, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. The settlement with a trust that benefits Paragon creditors sets up two options: Noble will either pay $10 million as part of a global settlement of the litigation or it will pay $7.5 million to resolve only the claim against the company and its affiliates, while allowing the lawsuit to proceed against insurance carriers covering its current and former directors and officers, according to papers filed Wednesday in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Houston. With a settlement in hand, Noble said it is well positioned to move ahead with a chapter 11 plan that cuts its debt and preserves about 1,600 jobs “during remarkably turbulent economic times.” The trust set up to represent Paragon creditors was seeking more than $2.6 billion in damages, accusing Noble of loading Paragon with old rigs and an unsustainable amount of debt before spinning it off. Paragon filed for chapter 11 protection less than two years after the spinoff. London-based Noble, which has denied the allegations, said the settlement is “exceptionally favorable” to Paragon and its creditors while avoiding the time and expense of a trial over the spinoff.
