Weatherford International completed the sale of its Precision Drilling Services Saudi Arabia (“PDSSA”) land drilling operations, including 11 drilling rigs, 923 employees and associated customer contracts to ADES International Holding Ltd. for $92.5mn in cash.
In July 2018, a subsidiary of Weatherford signed definitive agreements with ADES International Holding Ltd. for the sale of Weatherford’s land drilling rig operations in Algeria, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia as well as two idle land rigs in Iraq, for an aggregate cash purchase price of $287.5 mn. The transaction includes 31 land drilling rigs and related drilling contracts, as well as approximately 2,300 employees and contract personnel.
This is the second in a series of four closings, the majority of which are expected to be completed by year-end 2018, subject to regulatory approvals, consents and other customary closing conditions. In November 2018, the Company announced the closing of the Kuwait land drilling rigs sale for $123mn in cash, and an additional $12mn in cash pending the delivery of the two idle land drilling rigs from Iraq. Weatherford will use the proceeds to reduce its debt.