Transocean Ltd. Announces Amendments to Certain Financing Documents and Internal Reorganization Transactions to Resolve Allegations Contained in Purported Notices of Default

STEINHAUSEN, Switzerland, Dec. 01, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Transocean Ltd. (NYSE: RIG) announced today that it, Transocean Inc. (together with Transocean Ltd., the “Company”) and certain of its subsidiaries executed amendments to certain of their financing documents and implemented certain internal reorganization transactions to resolve the allegations contained in the previously disclosed notices of alleged default (the “Notices”) with respect to Transocean Inc.’s 7.25% Senior Notes due 2025 (the “2025 Guaranteed Notes”) and 8.00% Senior Notes due 2027 (the “2027 Guaranteed Notes”).

Immediately following such transactions and amendments (the “Transactions”), the Transocean Mid Holdings Entities (as defined below) have been eliminated and the Transocean Holdings Entities (as defined below) directly hold the equity interests of the Transocean Asset Holdings Entities (as defined below), exactly as they did prior to the Company’s previously announced internal reorganization and exchange transactions (the “Prior Transactions”). As a result, any claim of an alleged breach under any of the Company’s existing financing documents in respect of a transfer of the assets of the Transocean Holdings Entities resulting from the Prior Transactions has been rendered moot and cured (to the extent it ever existed, which the Company continues to unequivocally reject.)

The Company maintains that the Prior Transactions did not breach the indentures governing the 2027 Guaranteed Notes or 2025 Guaranteed Notes or any other financial instrument and it continues to proactively take steps to protect its interests and the interests of its shareholders, customers and employees against what the Company believes to be meritless allegations by certain of its debtholders. Nevertheless, as part of its prudent assessment of its strategies in connection with the Notices, and while the Company awaits a ruling from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on its request for summary judgment, the Company has elected to implement the Transactions prior to the expiration of the permitted cure period under the indentures governing the 2027 Guaranteed Notes and 2025 Guaranteed Notes. The Transactions thereby resolved such allegations prior to the purported breach described in the Notices maturing into an alleged “Event of Default,” which the Company would also vigorously dispute.