Italian energy services contractor Saipem is targeting a €750m ($797m) raise from the partial sale of assets in its offshore drilling business.
Last year, the Milan-headquartered firm announced plans for a capital increase of around €1.5bn through asset sales, some of which it already achieved through the disposal of its onshore drilling business to KCA Deutag.
The initial strategy to achieve the total divestment target included the potential sale and leaseback of certain offshore drilling units when the market was not as booming as it is now.
“We will deliver the same amount, but not via sale and leaseback but by partially selling shallow water drilling assets or, in the future, partially deepwater drilling business,” Saipem’s CEO Alessandro Puliti told investors at the Q4 result conference call.
Saipem startled investors last year with a profit warning that triggered a major selloff in the company’s shares, which suffered a heavy correction, slipping to their lowest since 1992. Following cost overruns at onshore projects and several offshore wind projects, the company was forced to make a €2bn capital increase to help turn the business around.
