Slaughter and May is advising Ensco PLC (“Ensco”) on its proposed acquisition of Atwood Oceanics, Inc. (“Atwood”).

Ensco and Atwood have jointly announced their entry into a definitive merger agreement under which Ensco will acquire Atwood in an all-stock transaction. The transaction will create a combined group with an estimated enterprise value of $6.9 billion. Pursuant to the merger agreement, Atwood shareholders will receive 1.60 shares in Ensco for each share of Atwood common stock for a total value of $10.72 per Atwood share (based on Ensco’s closing share price of $6.70 on 26 May 2017). The transaction is subject to approval by the shareholders of Ensco and Atwood, as well as other customary closing conditions.

Ensco is a global provider of offshore drilling services to the petroleum industry. It is incorporated in the UK and listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

Slaughter and May and Latham & Watkins LLP are assisting the Ensco in-house team, which is led by Michael McGuinty and Davor Vukadin.
Contacts

Corporate: Hywel Davies (partner), Chris McGaffin (partner), Tom Fletcher (associate), Tax: Mike Lane (partner), Charles Osborne (associate), Competition: William Turtle (partner), Kate Houston (associate)