Aban’s investment - Petrojack ASA files for bankruptcy

Petrojack ASA, a Norway-based company in which Aban Offshore holds 18% stake, filed for bankruptcy last week. Aban had paid Rs 194 crore for the 18% stake, which at the current market price of 1.09 Norwegian krone is valued at Rs 10 crore.

Aban’s stake in Petrojack was through its wholly-owned Norwegian subsidiary Sinvest, ASA, which it had acquired in 2007 for $1.35 billion. The company had bought Sinvest through its Singapore arm, Aban Singapore Ltd, in one of the biggest leveraged buyouts in the offshore drilling space.

Petrojack started having problems when it could not pay the dues to its bond holders and the company also sold 3 of its 4 rigs. There have been speculations that Aban was trying to exit its stake in Petrojack for a long time now in order to raise funds to service its debt obligation.