Norwegian PBR Contractor Plans Brazil IPO

Seabras Servicos de Petroleo, a Brazilian unit of Norway’s Seadrill, has filed with local regulators to issue an IPO. The owner of 3 drillships with long-term Petrobras contracts plans an all-primary share sale to raise funds for expansion. In its initial documents, it does not indicate size or timing of the sale, to be led by BTG Pactual. The Brazilian assets, spun off into a separate unit in July, generated BRL524.7m in Ebitda in the first 3 quarters of 2011, up from BRL371.2m in the corresponding period in 2010. Proceeds from the IPO are expected to go toward acquisitions and other investments as Seabras looks to over a wider range of oil field services in Brazil. A 50-50 joint investment with pipe-laying support vessel operator and fellow Petrobras contractor SapuraCrest is being negotiated, the Olso and New York-listed parent says.