Contact Information: Contact: Investor Relations / Media: Nicolas Bornozis Capital Link, Inc., New York Tel. 212-661-7566 E-mail: dryships@capitallink.com
DryShips Inc. Announces Acquisition of 30.4% Stake in Ocean Rig ASA
DryShips Management Will Hold a Conference Call Today at 11:30am EST
| Source: DryShips Inc.
ATHENS, GREECE--(Marketwire - December 17, 2007) - DryShips Inc. (NASDAQ : DRYS ), a global
provider of marine transportation services for dry bulk cargoes, announced
today that it has entered into an agreement to acquire approximately 30.4%
of the issued and outstanding shares and voting rights in Ocean Rig ASA, an
offshore drilling contractor listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange (OSLO : OCR ).
Ocean Rig owns and operates two ultra deepwater ("UDW"), modern, high
specification, fifth generation, harsh environment semi submersible
drilling rigs, built to operate in water depth capacity of between 7,500 to
10,000 feet. Both rigs are presently on charter to ExxonMobil and Shell.
Mr. George Economou, Chairman and CEO of DryShips Inc., has also, in
separate transactions, acquired approximately 4.4% of the share capital of
Ocean Rig ASA.
Mr. Economou commented: "DryShips' acquisition of a strategic stake in
Ocean Rig ASA is an exciting step. Ocean Rig is uniquely positioned to
immediately capitalize on the very strong demand for ultra deepwater
drilling rigs that is expected to prevail over the next five to ten years
as exploration and production of fossil fuels moves further offshore into
deeper waters. On the back of these strong demand fundamentals, the
current limited supply of UDW drilling rigs worldwide is expected to worsen
over the next few years, resulting in significantly higher day rates for
operators of these assets.
"Ocean Rig has reported that it expects to enter into new employment
contracts for its two UDW rigs with terms up to five years at very
attractive day rates. The Eirik Raude is the first deepwater drilling
rig available for charter in the world when its current employment contract
expires in July 2008 and the Leiv Eiriksson, Ocean Rig's second UDW
drilling rig, is one of the few rigs available for employment in 2009.
"We intend to finance this USD 405 million investment with a modest
contribution of USD 162 million from our cash on hand and the incurrence of
USD 243 million in debt. We believe the employment of Ocean Rig's two
assets at significantly higher day rates in 2008 and 2009 will enable the
company to realize its full valuation and growth prospects.
"We remain committed to the positive fundamentals of the dry bulk sector
and intend to continue enhancing our leadership role in this sector.
Nevertheless, DryShips' Board of Directors concluded that the acquisition
of a strategic stake in Ocean Rig is a particularly opportune investment
outside the dry bulk sector. We believe it will enable us to maximize our
shareholder value for the longer term by taking advantage of the strong
fundamentals of the floating ultra deepwater drilling rig sector at the
proper time. We expect our shareholders to benefit from the potential
capital appreciation of its investment in Ocean Rig ASA while we explore a
number of strategic alternatives to deliver the value realized from this
investment to our shareholders going forward.
"After payment of the cash portion of the acquisition price Dryships Inc.
does not presently expect any additional expenses related to its investment
in Ocean Rig ASA."
Conference Call
DryShips management will host a conference call today, Monday, December 17,
2007, at 11:30 a.m. EST to discuss this investment.
Conference Call details:
Participants should dial into the call 10 minutes before the scheduled time
using the following numbers: 1(866) 819-7111 (from the US), 0(800) 953-0329
(from the UK) or +(44) 1452 542 301 (from outside the US). Please quote
"DryShips."
In case of any problem with the above numbers, please dial 1(866) 223 0615
(from the US), 0(800) 694-1503 (from the UK) or +(44) 1452 586-513 (from
outside the US). Quote "DryShips."
A replay of the conference call will be available until December 24, 2007.
The United States replay number is 1(866) 247 4222; the international
replay number is (0(800) 953 -1533; from the UK or (+44) 1452-550 000 and
the access code required for the replay is: 2133051#.
Audio webcast:
There will also be a simultaneous live webcast over the Internet, through
the DryShips Inc. website (www.dryships.com). Participants to the live
webcast should register on the website approximately 10 minutes prior to
the start of the webcast.
About Dryships Inc.
DryShips Inc. is an international provider of drybulk cargo marine
transportation services. Headquartered in Athens, Greece, DryShips
currently owns and operates a fleet of 45 drybulk carriers comprising 5
Capesize, 29 Panamax, 1 Handymax, 2 Supramax and 8 newbuilding drybulk
vessels, with a combined deadweight tonnage of over 4 million tons.
DryShips Inc.'s common stock is listed on NASDAQ Global Market where it
trades under the symbol "DRYS."
Visit our website at www.dryships.com
Forward-Looking Statements
Matters discussed in this release may constitute forward-looking
statements. Forward-looking statements reflect our current views with
respect to future events and financial performance and may include
statements concerning plans, objectives, goals, strategies, future events
or performance, and underlying assumptions and other statements, which are
other than statements of historical facts.
The forward-looking statements in this release are based upon various
assumptions, many of which are based, in turn, upon further assumptions,
including without limitation, management's examination of historical
operating trends, data contained in our records and other data available
from third parties. Although Dryships Inc. believes that these assumptions
were reasonable when made, because these assumptions are inherently subject
to significant uncertainties and contingencies which are difficult or
impossible to predict and are beyond our control, Dryships Inc. cannot
assure you that it will achieve or accomplish these expectations, beliefs
or projections.
Important factors that, in our view, could cause actual results to differ
materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements include
the strength of world economies and currencies, general market conditions,
including changes in charter rates and vessel values, failure of a seller
to deliver one or more vessels to us or delay in taking delivery of one or
more vessels, default by one or more charterers of our vessels, changes in
demand that may affect attitudes of time charterers, scheduled and
unscheduled drydocking, changes in Dryships Inc.'s operating expenses,
length and number of off-hire periods and dependence on third-party
managers, dry-docking and insurance costs, changes in governmental rules
and regulations or actions taken by regulatory authorities, potential
liability from pending or future litigation, domestic and international
political conditions, potential disruption of shipping routes due to
accidents, international hostilities and political events or acts by
terrorists.
Risks and uncertainties are further discussed in documents filed by
Dryships Inc. with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.