Seadrill Bondholders Propose Alternative Debt Restructuring

An unofficial committee of Seadrill's unsecured bondholders has submitted a binding alternative proposal for the company's restructuring, two sources familiar with the proposal told Reuters on Tuesday.

Norwegian-born billionaire John Fredriksen and a group of hedge funds proposed on Sept. 12 to invest $1.06 billion via new equity and secured debt to restructure indebted Seadrill, once the largest drilling rig operator by market value.

"Total investments (in the alternative plan) are on par with the official restructuring proposal, but it's not a copy paste. It's an improvement for unsecured bondholders," one source said, declining to elaborate.

Monday was the deadline to submit binding proposals to Seadrill, which has been seeking the best available deal as part of its Chapter 11 bankruptcy procedure. The sources spoke on condition of anonymity, as they were not authorised to discuss the case.

Seadrill was not immediately available for comment when contacted by Reuters.

The unofficial committee includes about 40 investors from the United States, Europe and Asia, and funds managed by Nordic asset manager DNB Asset Management, Nine Masts Capital Ltd of Hong Kong, and U.S. hedge funds such as Phoenix Investment Adviser LLC.

Kris Hansen, a lawyer for Stroock & Stroock & Lavan, who represents the group, has previously said the unsecured bondholders felt they would recover too little compared to Fredriksen and a group of funds supporting him.

Under the official plan, holders of Seadrill's $2.3 billion of unsecured bonds would receive 14.3 percent of the stock in the reorganised firm.


(By Nerijus Adomaitis; Editing by Terje Solsvik and Gareth Jones)