Helmerich & Payne Exit ADNOC Drilling

Helmerich & Payne, the US oil and gas drilling firm, has fully divested its stake in the drilling unit of Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) Drilling for $197 million.

In a regulatory filing with the US Securities Exchange Commission (SEC), the US company said that it has invested $100 million cornerstone investment in ADNOC Drilling Company, for 159.7 million shares of ADNOC Drilling.

Helmerich & Payne has agreed to sell its entire shares for aggregate proceeds of approximately $197 million and closing was expected to take place by mid-October.

“The company intends to use the net proceeds from the sale of the shares to reduce the commitments under its bridge loan facility in connection with its previously announced pending acquisition of KCA Deutag International Limited,” Helmerich & Payne said in the filing.

Helmerich & Payneand KCA Deutag International Limited have signed an agreement under which H&P will acquire KCA Deutag for $1.97 billion in cash in July this year.

It may be recalled that H&P acquired its stake in ADNOC Drilling back in September 2021 during the latter’s IPO, which placed 7.5% minority stake on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX). As part of the agreement, Adnoc Drilling also purchased eight FlexRig land rigs from H&P for $86.5 million.

Role of EFG Hermes

Meanwhile, EFG Hermes, an EFG Holding Company and the leading investment bank in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, said that its investment banking division has successfully completed an accelerated book build (ABB) on behalf of Helmerich & Payne, Inc. (H&P).

EFG Hermes acted as Joint Global Coordinator for the ABB, facilitating H&P’s exit from ADNOC Drilling, a stake it had initially acquired as a cornerstone investor during ADNOC Drilling’s initial public offering (IPO).

Commenting on the transaction, Ali Khalpey, Head of Equity Capital Markets at EFG Hermes, said that they have successfully supported Helmerich & Payne in this important transaction. Despite a challenging geopolitical backdrop, the offering attracted a strong group of investors, underscoring continued confidence in ADNOC Drilling’s promising future.

He added: “Our expertise in managing accelerated book builds enables us to help clients optimise their investment strategies, even in complex market environments. This transaction demonstrates EFG Hermes’ deep understanding of regional capital markets and highlights our extensive distribution capabilities.”

This transaction marks EFG Hermes’ fifth follow-on offering in the GCC this year and its third transaction on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX), including its role in the IPO of ALEF Education. It is also the second ABB executed on ADNOC Drilling by the firm.

ADNOC Drilling has sold a 5.5% stake in a secondary sale for $935 million in May, increasing its free float in a bid to qualify for MSCI indices. The stronger float saw MSCI add ADNOC Drilling to the MSCI Emerging Markets Index in August.