Seabras Puts off IPO Again

Norway’s Seadrill has again postponed the IPO of its Brazilian Seabras Servicos de Petroleo unit, it says. It had initially hoped to sell in February, before pushing the deal to April, and is now targeting an IPO before the end of the year. The company is to adopt a master limited partnership structure, with the aim of lower future financing costs and increased dividend capacity, and has prioritized this ahead of the IPO. Seabras has completed the necessary corporate restructuring and received the required consents from Petrobras, with whom it has long-term drilling contracts. Seabras had been looking at raising up to BRL1.44bn ($787m) from an all-primary share offering. The owner of 3 drillships was spun off last year, and needs funds for acquisitions and other investments as it looks to cover a wider range of oilfield services in Brazil. It generated BRL524.7m in Ebitda in the first 3 quarters of 2011, up from BRL371.2m in the corresponding period in 2010. BTG, Citi, Morgan Stanley, Banco do Brasil and HSBC were hired to manage the sale.