Major seismic vessel owner Shearwater Geoservices has clinched a huge new debt refinancing deal with Norwegian lenders.
The Bergen-based group said the $700m deal will strengthen the company’s “sustainable value creation”.
Part of the refinancing is a five-year $300m bond, with another $300m coming in the shape of a five-year bank loan that will pay off earlier secured debt.
Then there is a $50m revolving credit facility and a $50m guarantee facility.
The owner of 23 ships said DNB, Sparebank 1 SR-Bank, Export Finance Norway and Sparebanken More were the lenders.
“Shearwater has established a strong foundation for growth and value creation as a global leader within the marine seismic industry in terms of capabilities, capacity and financial standing,” chief financial officer Andreas Hveding Aubert said.
“We are positioned to generate significant free cash flow in coming years to the benefit of our shareholders.
“This is supported by substantial operational leverage as we control the worldwide swing capacity combined with limited capex requirements and low leverage,” he added.
The term loan has a scheduled annual amortisation of $50m and was priced at the secured overnight financing rate plus 4.10%.
The bond issue was “substantially oversubscribed”, Shearwater said, and carries a coupon of 9.5%.
Last year, Shearwater’s majority owner, Norway’s Rasmussen Group, was reported to be lining up an IPO for the shipowner.
IPO this year?
The investment group instructed Shearwater to prepare for a stock market debut in the first half of 2024, according to Finansavisen.
Rasmussen’s valuation of its 77.2% Shearwater stake implied the shipping company is worth NOK 20bn ($1.8bn).
In 2021, Shearwater added six ships from collapsed Middle East owner Polarcus and, in 2020, the company completed its acquisition of CGG’s seismic vessel fleet.
Two years before that, it bought WesternGeco and its fleet of 12 ships from US giant Schlumberger in a landmark $600m deal.
