Ocean Rig UDW Inc. Announces Launch of Schemes of Arrangement

GRAND CAYMAN, CAYMAN ISLANDS--(Marketwired - May 22, 2017) - Ocean Rig UDW Inc. (NASDAQ: ORIG)

• Schemes of arrangement proceedings with respect to Ocean Rig UDW Inc., Drillships Financing Holding Inc. ("DFH"), Drillships Ocean Ventures Inc. ("DOV") and Drill Rigs Holdings Inc. ("DRH") (the "Scheme Companies") have been launched
  
  
• The Scheme Companies have issued a Practice Statement Letter notifying the Scheme Creditors of their intention to apply to the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands for a directions hearing ("Directions Hearing") in relation to each Scheme
  
  
• Ocean Rig notifies DRH Noteholders that the deadline for the DRH Early Consent Fee available to holders who accede to the Restructuring Agreement ("RSA") is 5pm (New York time) on MAY 29, 2017
  

Ocean Rig UDW Inc. (NASDAQ: ORIG) ("Ocean Rig" or "UDW" or the "Company"), an international contractor of offshore deepwater drilling services, today announced that it will seek orders from the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands (the "Cayman Court") to convene meetings ("Scheme Meetings") in relation to schemes of arrangement proposed by Ocean Rig, DFH, DOV and DRH (the "Schemes"). The Schemes will implement the restructuring (the "Restructuring") envisaged by the RSA entered into on 23 March 2017 (as amended).

Further Information

A summary of the Schemes and the background to the Restructuring is included in the Practice Statement Letter which has been distributed to creditors affected by the Schemes (the "Scheme Creditors") today. If the Cayman Court grants leave to convene the Scheme Meetings at the Directions Hearings all Scheme Creditors will be provided with an explanatory statement in advance of those meetings which will contain information for creditors to make an informed decision about the merits of the proposed Schemes.

Ocean Rig will advise the Scheme Creditors of the precise date, time and location at which the Directions Hearings will take place promptly upon such information having been confirmed by the Cayman Court. Scheme Creditors who wish to obtain further information about the Restructuring should register with Prime Clerk LLC, the Company's Information Agent, as detailed below.

Each Scheme can only become binding if at least a majority in number of the relevant creditors, holding at least seventy-five per cent (75%) in value of claims, present and voting (either in person or by proxy) at the relevant Scheme Meeting, vote in favour of that Scheme and the Cayman Court then sanctions it. Each of the UDW Scheme, the DFH Scheme and the DOV Scheme is inter-conditional upon each other and must be approved by the requisite Scheme Creditors at each of the relevant Scheme Meetings, sanctioned by the Cayman Court and given effect by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in order to become effective. The DRH Scheme is conditional on the requisite Scheme Creditor approval, sanction by the Cayman Court, being given effect by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court and the effectiveness of the UDW Scheme, the DFH Scheme and the DOV Scheme.