Dryships Announces Acquisition of Ocean Rig

DryShips Inc. has entered into an agreement to acquire approximately 30.4% of the issued and outstanding shares and voting rights in Ocean Rig ASA, an offshore drilling contractor listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange (OSE: OCR). Ocean Rig owns and operates two ultra deepwater , modern, high specification, fifth generation, harsh environment semi submersible drilling rigs, built to operate in water depth capacity of between 7,500 to 10,000 feet. Both rigs are presently on charter to ExxonMobil and Shell. Economou Chairman and CEO of DryShips Inc. has also, in separate transactions, acquired approximately 4.4% of the share capital of Ocean Rig ASA.