Demarest advises Ocean Rig in Transocean takeover


Brazilian law firm Demarest has advised Ocean Rig UDW in the submission of an antitrust filing, through which Switzerland-based international offshore drilling services supplier Transocean acquired 100 per cent of the former’s shares for approximately $2.7 billion.

Cayman Islands-based 
Ocean Rig UDW was acquired on behalf of Transocean through its wholly owned subsidiaries Transocean Oceanus Holdings Limited and Transocean Oceanus Limited. 



Ocean Rig operates semi-submersible oil and gas rigs and drillships, specialising in the ultra-deep water and harsh-environment segment of the offshore drilling industry, and owns and operates 13 offshore ultra-deep water drilling units. 

“This combination with Ocean Rig further strengthens our relationships with strategic customers, while expanding our presence in the key markets of Brazil, West Africa and Norway,” according to Transocean’s president and CEO Jeremy Thigpen.

“It also enables us to reduce our cost per active rig, as we believe that we can efficiently merge the Ocean Rig operations into our existing structure with limited incremental shore-based expense,” he said.

The cash and stock transaction is valued at approximately $2.7 billion, inclusive of Ocean Rig’s net debt.

“The acquisition was structured as a merger pursuant to the laws of the Cayman Islands and Ocean Rig will ultimately become a wholly owned subsidiary of Transocean,” Demarest said in a statement.


The transaction was filed before the Brazilian and the Norwegian competition authorities.

 Paul Singer’s Elliott hedge fund will support Transocean’s acquisition of Ocean Rig, according to a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Elliott owns 20.3 per cent of Ocean Rig, according to the filing.


Demarest’s team was led by competition and anti-trust partner Daniel Oliveira Andreoli, with competition and anti-trust associate Fernanda Harari Dayan.