S&P assigns B- to Transocean Titan notes

S&P said it assigned B- issue-level and 1 recovery ratings to Transocean Titan Financing Ltd.'s planned $500 million of senior secured notes due 2028. The 1 recovery rating indicates very high (90%-100%; rounded estimate: 95%) recovery in default.

The notes are secured by the eighth-generation ultra-deepwater drillship Deepwater Titan, which was delivered to the company in December. The rig is under a five-year contract with Chevron through the second quarter of 2028 at a daily rate of $455,000. The notes will be guaranteed by parent companies Transocean Inc., Transocean Ltd., and the collateral rig-owning subsidiary.

The proceeds are expected to be used primarily to replenish Transocean’s liquidity after making its final milestone payment to the shipyard for the construction of the Deepwater Titan and additional related costs.

S&P also affirmed the B- issue-level rating on Transocean's other secured debt, including its secured credit facility), the CCC+ issue-level rating on its super priority unsecured senior notes with subsidiary guarantees, and the CCC+ issue-level rating on its priority unsecured senior notes with subsidiary guarantees. The agency concurrently affirmed the CCC issue-level rating on its unsecured debt without guarantees and its unsecured debt issued by Global Marine Inc., and revised the recovery rating to 4 from 3. The CC issuer credit rating on Transocean Ltd. is unchanged.

The outlook is negative.

© 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.