QG Seeks More Drillship Funding

Brazil’s Queiroz Galvao is heard mandating banks for an up to $1bn loan to finance the construction of two drillships to go on charter to Petrobras, but whether it will try its luck this year is open to debate given the shaky market backdrop. In July, Queiroz Galvao Oleo e Gas wrapped up a $700m 7-year, 3.8 average life bond, pricing it at 99.35 with a 5.25% coupon to yield 5.45% or 480.9bp over. Proceeds were used to refinance a loan used to fund Atlantic Star and Alaskan Star drillships. HSBC and Santander acted as global coordinators on the sale, with Citi coming in as a bookrunner.