ADES Completes Acquisition of Saipem's Saudi Shallow-Water Drilling Business for US$285 Million

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On September 15, ADES Holding announced that its indirectly held subsidiary, ADES Saudi Limited Company, has completed the acquisition of all issued shares of Saudi Arabian Saipem Limited for a consideration of approximately SAR 1.07 billion, equivalent to approximately US$285 million, plus customary closing adjustments. The transaction was completed after obtaining applicable regulatory approvals and satisfying all conditions precedent stipulated in the sale and purchase agreement.

The acquisition covers 5 high-specification jack-up drilling rigs, of which Perro Negro 7, Perro Negro 8 and Perro Negro 10 are owned by Saudi Arabian Saipem Limited, while Perro Negro 11 and Perro Negro 13 are leased operating rigs. The two parties signed the formal sale and purchase agreement on June 24 of this year, at which time 4 rigs were operating in Saudi Arabia, while Perro Negro 10 was executing an existing drilling contract in Mexico.

Following the completion of the transaction, ADES and Saipem simultaneously signed a bareboat charter agreement for Perro Negro 10, under which Saipem will continue to use the rig to execute its existing operations and customer contracts in Mexico. Accordingly, the completion of this equity transfer did not terminate Perro Negro 10's current operational arrangements in Mexico.

Saudi Arabian Saipem Limited generated revenue of SAR 636 million, approximately US$170 million, in 2025. When the acquisition agreement was signed in June, ADES disclosed that the transaction was intended to be financed through existing working capital and available financing facilities, and it was agreed that 10% of the transaction consideration would be paid into an escrow account within 5 business days after signing the agreement.

Among them, Perro Negro 7 is a Pacific Class 375 jack-up drilling rig, capable of operating at a maximum water depth of approximately 114 meters and a maximum drilling depth of approximately 9,100 meters. The rig's previous contract in Saudi Arabia was extended by 10 years in 2023, and after a suspension of approximately 12 months in 2024, it resumed operations in January 2026, with the suspension period to be added to the end of the contract term, thereby extending the existing contract term to 2034.