General – Acquisition
Borr Drilling has entered into definitive agreements to acquire five jackups from Paratus Energy Services indirect subsidiary Fontis Finance for a purchase price of $287 million.
Under the transaction, the joint venture will acquire Paratus’ jackup business Fontis Energy’s drilling operations and jackup fleet, including Friede & Goldman JU-2000E design rigs Titania FE and Oberon and LeTournea Super 116-C design units Defender, Intrepid, and Courageous. All five rigs are currently located in Mexico.
Paratus put the price of the transaction for its rigs and rig business at $400 million. The purchase price consists of $148 million cash payable to Paratus at closing, $15 million in deferred consideration, and a 2.5-year $237 million non-recourse seller’s credit to be issued at closing.
The transaction is structured through two inter-conditional transactions, whereby CME will acquire the Fontis Mexican operations for cash consideration, while CME and Borr, through the jointly owned acquisition vehicle BC Ventures, will acquire Fontis’ Singaporean rig owning entities for a combination of cash and seller’s credit.
The transaction is expected to be financed through a $237 million non-recourse seller’s credit, in addition to a cash contribution of $25 million from each of Borr Drilling and CEM at closing.
The seller’s credit will have a 2.5-year maturity from the date of closing and will be secured by, among other things, a first lien on the five jackups.
The transaction is expected to close in Q3 2026, subject to closing conditions including merger control approvals.
