Contemplated secondary sale of existing shares in Dolphin Drilling AS
NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN OR INTO
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AUSTRALIA, CANADA, HONG KONG, SOUTH AFRICA OR
JAPAN OR IN ANY JURISDICTION IN WHICH SUCH RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION
WOULD BE UNLAWFUL. THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IS NOT A PROSPECTUS AND DOES NOT CONSTITUTE
A PUBLIC OFFER OF ANY OF THE SECURITIES DESCRIBED HEREIN.
3 March 2025: S.D. Standard ETC Plc ("SDSD") and Strategic Value Partners
("SVP", and together with SDSD, the "Vendors"), have retained Arctic Securities
and DNB Markets, a part of DNB Bank ASA, (jointly, the "Managers") as joint
bookrunners to explore a potential sale of existing shares in Dolphin Drilling
AS (the "Company") through an accelerated bookbuilding offering (the "Placing").
The Vendors are contemplating selling up to 59,951,404 shares, representing
approximately 20.5% of the outstanding shares in the Company, whereas SDSD is
contemplating selling its holdings in full, i.e. up to 49,784,706 shares and
SVP, through the SVP-controlled fund Strategic Value Master Fund, Ltd. ("SVMF"),
is contemplating selling up to 10,166,698 shares.
The bookbuilding process will commence immediately following the publication of
this announcement and may be closed at short notice or without notice at the
full discretion of the Vendors and the Managers. The Vendors reserve the right,
at their own discretion, to decide the number of shares to be sold, or to sell
no shares at all.
The minimum order and allocation in the Placing have been set to the NOK
equivalent of EUR 100,000. The Vendors may, at their sole discretion, allocate
amounts below the NOK equivalent of EUR 100,000 in the Placing to the extent
applicable exemptions from the prospectus requirement pursuant to the Prospectus
Regulation (EU) 2017/1129, the Norwegian Securities Trading Act and ancillary
regulations are available.
The Placing is expected to be priced and allocated before 08:00 CET on 4 March
2025 (T). The settlement in the Placing will be conducted on a normal
delivery-versus-payment basis (DVP, T+2).
SDSD currently holds 49,784,706 shares in the Company, representing 17.1% of the
outstanding share capital in the Company. SVP currently holds 69,850,826 shares
in the Company, representing 23.9% of the outstanding share capital in the
Company, of which SVMF currently holds 10,166,698 shares, representing
approximately 3.5% of the outstanding share capital in the Company. The Vendors
are represented on the board of directors (the "Board") in the Company by Martin
Nes as Chairman of the Board (SDSD) and Paul Marchand as board member (SVP).
For further information about the Placing, please contact:
Arctic Securities: +47 21 01 30 70
DNB Markets: +47 24 16 90 20
Important notices:
This announcement is not and does not form a part of a prospectus or any offer
to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to purchase, any securities of the
Company. No action has been taken that would permit an offering of the
securities or possession or distribution of this announcement in any
jurisdiction where action for that purpose is required. The distribution of this
announcement and other information may be restricted by law in the United States
of America, Australia, Canada, Japan, Hong Kong, South Africa or in certain
jurisdictions. Copies of this announcement are not being made and may not be
distributed or sent into any jurisdiction in which such distribution would be
unlawful or would require registration or other measures. Accordingly, this
announcement is not for public release, publication or distribution, directly or
indirectly, in or into the United States (including its territories and
possessions, any state of the United States and the District of Columbia),
except to "qualified institutional buyers" as defined in Rule 144A under the
U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"). Persons into
whose possession this announcement or such other information should come are
required to inform themselves about and to observe any such restrictions.
The securities referred to in this announcement have not been and will not be
registered under the Securities Act, and accordingly may not be offered or sold
in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from the
registration requirements of the Securities Act and in accordance with
applicable U.S. state securities laws. The Company does not intend to register
any part of the offering or its securities in the United States or to conduct a
public offering of securities in the United States.
In any EEA Member State, this communication is only addressed to and is only
directed at qualified investors in that Member State within the meaning of the
Prospectus Regulation, i.e., only to investors who can receive the offer without
an approved prospectus in such EEA Member State. The expression "Prospectus
Regulation" means Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 as amended together with any
applicable implementing measures in any Member State.
This communication is only being distributed to and is only directed at persons
in the United Kingdom that are "qualified investors" within the meaning of the
Prospectus Regulation as amended by The Prospectus (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit)
Regulations 2019, and which forms part of UK law by virtue of the European Union
(Withdrawal) Act 2018, and that are (i) investment professionals falling within
Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial
Promotion) Order 2005, as amended (the "Order"), (ii) high net worth entities,
and other persons to whom this announcement may lawfully be communicated,
falling within Article 49(2)(a) to (d) of the Order (all such persons together
being referred to as "Relevant Persons"). This communication must not be acted
on or relied on by persons who are not Relevant Persons. Any investment or
investment activity to which this communication relates is available only to
Relevant Persons and will be engaged in only with Relevant Persons. Persons
distributing this communication must satisfy themselves that it is lawful to do
so.
Neither the Vendors, the Managers nor any of their respective directors,
officers, employees, advisers or agents accept any responsibility or liability
whatsoever for or makes any representation or warranty, express or implied, as
to the truth, accuracy or completeness of the information in this release (or
whether any information has been omitted from the release) or any other
information relating to the Company, whether written, oral or in a visual or
electronic form, and howsoever transmitted or made available, or for any loss
howsoever arising from any use of this release or its contents or otherwise
arising in connection therewith.
The Managers are acting on behalf of the Vendors and no one else in connection
with the Placing and will not be responsible to any other person for providing
the protections afforded to clients of the Managers or for providing advice in
relation to the Placing.
This announcement is for information purposes only and is not to be relied upon
in substitution for the exercise of independent judgement. It is not intended as
investment advice and under no circumstances is it to be used or considered as
an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities or a
recommendation to buy or sell any securities in the Company.
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