Transocean Ltd. (SIX: RIGN) today announced the proposed public offering of senior notes of its wholly-owned subsidiary, Transocean Inc. Transocean Ltd. expects to fully and unconditionally guarantee the senior notes.

Transocean Inc. intends to use a portion of the net proceeds from the offering to fund (after the application of the proceeds of Transocean Ltd.'s previously announced equity offering) the expected repurchase of its 1.50% Series B Convertible Senior Notes due December 2037 that holders of the Series B Convertible Senior Notes may require it to repurchase in December 2011. In addition, Transocean Inc. intends to use a portion of the net proceeds from the offering to refinance all commercial paper notes outstanding under its commercial paper program. Transocean Inc. plans to use the remainder, if any, of such net proceeds for general corporate purposes in its operations, including but not limited to capital expenditures, acquisitions or repayment or refinancing of debt. Pending application of the net proceeds from the sale of the senior notes, Transocean Inc. intends to invest such proceeds in cash or cash equivalents.

On November 29, 2011, Transocean Ltd. priced an offering for 26,000,000 of its shares and granted the underwriters in such offering a 30-day option to purchase up to 3,900,000 additional shares to cover over-allotments, if any. The closing of this offering of senior notes is not contingent upon the closing of Transocean Ltd.'s offering of its shares.

Barclays Capital Inc., Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, Mitsubishi UFJ Securities (USA), Inc., Wells Fargo Securities, LLC, Citigroup Global Markets Inc. and J.P. Morgan Securities LLC are acting as joint book-running managers of the underwriters in the offering.

The senior notes will be issued under a shelf registration statement filed by Transocean Ltd. and Transocean Inc. with the Securities and Exchange Commission on September 16, 2010, which became automatically effective.


About Transocean

Transocean is the world's largest offshore drilling contractor and the leading provider of drilling management services worldwide. With a fleet of 135 mobile offshore drilling units, excluding two Ultra-Deepwater Drillships and four High-Specification Jackups under construction, Transocean's fleet is considered one of the most modern and versatile in the world due to its emphasis on technically demanding segments of the offshore drilling business. Transocean owns or operates a contract drilling fleet of 50 High-Specification Floaters (Ultra-Deepwater, Deepwater and Harsh-Environment semisubmersibles and drillships), 25 Midwater Floaters, nine High-Specification Jackups, 50 Standard Jackups and one swamp barge.