Shipowner John Fredriksen has taken an 11.8% stake in Oslo-listed Northern Drilling (NODL)'s spin-off Northern Rig Holding.
The company said it had completed a private placement of 18.72m new shares worth $100m in its subsidiary, which is to be renamed Northern Ocean (NOL).
The shares were issued at $5.34 each.
Fredriksen's private Hemen Holding, the largest shareholder in Northern Drilling, was allocated 7.49m shares, or $40m worth.
Northern Drilling is spinning off its two harsh environment rigs, West Mira and West Bollsta, in Northern Rig Holding.
"With West Mira having commenced operations for Wintershall Norge and West Bollsta on schedule for contract start-up with Lundin Norway, expected in 2Q 2020, a separation is expected to crystalise the underlying values of NODL’s harsh environment fleet," NODL said.
"NOL will benefit from a high quality fleet with strong contract coverage, a best in class balance sheet and 100% exposure to a harsh environment market that continues to recover."
NOL has received credit approval from lenders to increase its existing $400m term loan facility by $50m.
The interest rate for the revolving credit facility is Libor plus 350 basis points, which is considered "attractive", NODL said.
