Saudi rig group ADES to buy Norway rival Shelf in $380 mln deal
The offer of 14 crowns per share, a 62% premium over Tuesday's closing price in Oslo, was recommended by Shelf's board, the companies said in a joint statement.
The combined group will have 83 offshore jack-up drilling rigs serving the international oil and gas industry, they added.
"With this landmark transaction, we reinforce our position as a market leader in shallow-water offshore drilling," ADES CEO Mohamed Farouk said in the statement.
The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2025, subject to approval by an extraordinary general meeting of Shelf Drilling's shareholders and other conditions, the companies said.
($1 = 10.2814 Norwegian crowns)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Telegraph
36 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Xi Jinping can't afford for Russia to make peace in Ukraine
Of particular importance is China's role as an enabler of Russia's drone warfare campaign, a combat tactic that has been the hallmark of the war in Ukraine. Russia is believed to import millions of dollars worth of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) from China each year, in addition to producing UAVs jointly with Chinese firms inside Russia. Intelligence assessments suggest that Russia established a secret UAV factory in China through IEMZ Kupol, a subsidiary of Russian state-owned arms company Almaz-Antey, where engineers developed and flight-tested a new model of a long-range combat drone called Garpiya-3 (G3). Helping to fuel the Russian wartime economy, China (along with India) has been a top importer of Russian oil, having accounted for 47 per cent of Russia's crude oil exports in June 2025. Much of Russia's oil exports are transported by a shadow fleet of unmarked tankers in order to bypass the sanctions regime. Last week, Beijing rebuffed US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's threat of a 100 per cent tariff if it continues this practice. Further aligning itself with Moscow against the US, China has set out to increase gas imports from Russia, while cutting liquefied natural gas purchases from the US. Why is China so invested in assisting Russia's fight against Ukraine? Beijing's rationale can be illustrated by the following Chinese allegory. 'As two tigers are fighting ferociously in the valley, a sage monkey is sitting on top of the mountain, looking down and waiting to see how it will end.' Beijing sees itself as the wise monkey, waiting patiently as Moscow and Washington erode their respective combat arsenals. Indeed, although China and Russia publicly portray themselves as allies, having declared a 'no limits partnership' in 2022, they are in fact strategic opponents, linked in an opportunistic relationship aimed at achieving the common goal of limiting US and Western geopolitical dominance. China and Russia have had multiple border clashes during their turbulent history and to this day maintain a territorial dispute in Russia's Far East. Demographically declining, Russia views decades-long migration of Chinese citizens into its Far East region as a grave threat. Putin warned as far back as 2000 that if Russia did not undertake the 'real effort' to develop its Far East in the short term, then 'a few decades from now its Russian population will mostly be speaking Japanese, Chinese, and Korean'. China is incentivised to prolong the conflict in Ukraine by its desire to reduce the US weapons stockpile, which has already been depleted to dangerous levels as a result of US assistance to Ukraine and to Israel. China sees the erosion of American combat readiness as crucial in preventing the US from intervening in China's future invasion of Taiwan, which some US military commanders assess as probable around 2027. For Beijing, fulfilling its 'One China' grand plan by 2049 by securing control over Taiwan is likely to take priority over maintaining a transactional relationship and avoiding a trade war with Washington. Thus far, Russia has largely brushed off President Trump's various manoeuvres. Beijing, meanwhile, has been conducting joint Chinese-Russian naval exercises in the Sea of Japan. The signal from Moscow and Beijing to Washington is clear – peace in Ukraine is counter to both of their agendas.
Reuters
36 minutes ago
- Reuters
BRF's Saudi investor says it has no influence on management
SAO PAULO, Aug 6 (Reuters) - SALIC International Investment Company, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Saudi Agricultural and Livestock Investment Company, told Brazilian competition authorities on Wednesday it is a passive minority shareholder in rival food producers BRF ( opens new tab and Minerva ( opens new tab. SIIC, which owns 11.03% of BRF and 24.49% of Minerva, said "it does not hold any political rights that would allow it to interfere with or influence the independence and normal course of business and management of BRF and Minerva." The Saudi investor's clarification comes after a formal information request made by Brazil's antitrust watchdog CADE regarding the proposed takeover of BRF by Marfrig ( opens new tab. The deal was approved by the minority shareholders of both companies on Tuesday. The Saudi investor abstained from voting and did not participate in the merger discussions of BRF and Marfrig, according to CADE's disclosures. Separately, CADE cleared the proposed transaction in early June. But CADE's nod was later challenged by Minerva, which asked it to scrutinize the deal more closely. Minerva claimed the merger would involve the transfer of BRF's current shareholders, including SALIC, to Marfrig's shareholding structure through a share swap. Minerva said if the transaction went ahead, the Saudi investor would gain influence over the business decisions of three competitors: Minerva, Marfrig, and BRF. BRF and Marfrig did not comment. CADE responded to Minerva by agreeing with a more prolonged merger review, according to a public decision on Monday. "The alleged facts, if proven, may indicate a possible alignment of interests and exchange of sensitive information between ... competitors," CADE's general superintendent wrote. That decision must be confirmed by a virtual CADE panel on August 11. By law, CADE has a 240-day deadline to investigate complex mergers, extendable by 90 days. If approved, Marfrig and BRF will create another global Brazilian food processor, with factories across the Americas, the Middle East and Asia.
The Sun
an hour ago
- The Sun
Primark owner to buy 135-year-old business in huge deal
PRIMARK'S London-listed parent company is set to make a huge deal to buy a 135-year old business. The deal that will unite brands Kingsmill and Hovis under the same ownership is expected to be announced by the end of the week. 3 3 Associated British Foods (ABF), which is the London-listed parent of Primark, are set to pay about £75 million to acquire Hovis, according to Sky News. The final touches of the landmark transaction between ABF and private equity firm Endless are reported to have been put in place on Wednesday. It will see ABF acquire the 135-year-old brand, with an announcement likely to come at the end of the week. The timeline, however, is subject uncertain and subject to delay as warned by banking sources. The second and third largest suppliers of packaged bread in Britain's major supermarkets will as a result come together in this deal. The move is therefore likely to ignite lengthy reviews from competition regulators. Sources in the industry have suggested that as a combined group, benefits of up to £50 million in annual cost savings could be made from the merger. The overall bakery market in the UK is estimated to be worth around £5 billion in annual sales, which equates to roughly £11 million loaves of bread sold each day. ABF owns Kingsmill's parent, Allied Bakeries, that has been struggling in recent years. Challenges have been linked to continual price inflation, changing consumer preferences and competition from other large rivals like Warburtons, as well as new entrants into the market. Huge A-list actress follows Samuel L Jackson and Robert De Niro to star in TV ads for bread firm Warburtons Family-owned business, Warburtons, is the largest bakery in the UK, with an estimated 34% share of the branded sliced breads. Hovis holds 24% and Allied Bakeries 17%, making their merger give them the largest segment of the market. Jon Jenkins, who is the current chief executive of Hovis, is also a former boss of Allied Milling and Baking. Prior to being owned by Endless, Hovis came under Premier Foods which also makes Mr Kipling, and the Gores family. The Hovis brand has a deep history, dating back to 1890, when its name was derived from the Latin 'Hominis Vis' meaning 'strength of man'. ABF has been seeing a number of changes in its brands, particularly with Primark recently. The merger from Primark's owner comes just months after the retailer introduced click & collect services in all its 187 stores across the UK. They also opened a brand new type of store, called Primark Home. The new iteration of Primark Home came just in time for the summer, and is dedicated to interiors for shoppers want a new range of homeware. The retailer also launched it's app for the first time in the UK just this week, with some greatly-anticipated features. 3
