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Saudi Arabian oil drilling group ADES International Holding has increased its offer to buy Oslo-listed rival Shelf Drilling to 18.50 Norwegian Krone ($1.88) per share, representing a 6% increase in the acquisition’s enterprise value.
The offer was revised from an earlier deal of NOK 14 per share or a total of NOK 3.9 billion ($379.33 million).
ADES International Holding, a subsidiary of ADES Holding Company, signed a transaction agreement to acquire all issued and outstanding shares of Shelf Drilling through a cash merger, with ADES International Cayman (BidCo) also participating in the proposed merger.
According to a joint statement, irrevocable commitments have now been provided by additional shareholders, including China Merchants, Anchorage Capital Group and Magallanes Value Investors, which combined with ADES’ 17.9% stake in Shelf Drilling, represents 53.4% of the outstanding shares in the company.
ADES raised its offer for Shelf Drilling after reassessing the company’s current market performance and revising its estimated annual cost synergies upwards by $10 million, bringing the total to $50–60 million.
All other terms of the merger remain unchanged, along with the transaction timetable, with closing expected to occur in Q4 2025.
Shelf Drilling is incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands with its corporate headquarters in Dubai.
(Writing by Bindu Rai, editing by Seban Scaria)
