Greek drybulk shipper DryShips Inc announced a bid for remaining shares in Ocean Rig ASA after raising its stake in the Norwegian offshore drilling services company to above 50 percent.
DryShips (nasdaq: DRYS - news - people ) said Tuesday it bought 33.3 million shares in Ocean Rig for 45 Norwegian crowns per share, bringing the company's stake to 54.3 percent.
The stake includes 4.4 percent held by DryShips Chief Executive George Economou.
DryShips said it will make a tender for the 170.4 million outstanding Ocean Rig shares within a month. DryShips will use existing debt and cash on hand to finance the deal.
DryShips shares closed up 11.2 percent at $82.99.
Copyright Thomson Financial News Limited 2008. All rights reserved.
The copying, republication or redistribution of Thomson Financial News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Financial News.
|