S&P: Pride unaffected by acquisition

Standard & Poor's said Pride International Inc.'s (BB/Stable/--) announcement that it would acquire a high-specification drillship currently under construction at the Samsung Heavy Industries Co. Ltd. shipyard in South Korea would not affect the company's ratings.

The construction costs for the drillship are expected to be $675 million and Pride expects to fund construction costs through internally generated cash flow or availability under its $500 million revolving credit facility, S&P said.

Pride's improved credit measures and cash flow over recent periods, a favorable near-term industry outlook and strengthened contract backlog remain supportive factors for current ratings, the agency said.

But management's willingness to undertake two sizable new-build projects without firm contracts as indicative of more aggressive policies, S&P said.

© 2015 Prospect News.
All content on this website is protected by copyright law in the U.S. and elsewhere. For the use of the person downloading only.
Redistribution and copying are prohibited by law without written permission in advance from Prospect News.
Redistribution or copying includes e-mailing, printing multiple copies or any other form of reproduction.