Superior Offshore International Completes Sale and Charter-Back of the
Superior Achiever With Hornbeck Offshore Services
HOUSTON, Jan. 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Superior Offshore
International, Inc. (Nasdaq: DEEP) today announced that it has completed the
sale and charter-back of the Superior Achiever with Hornbeck Offshore Services
LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Hornbeck Offshore Services, Inc. (NYSE: HOS)
("Hornbeck"), on the terms previously disclosed. The Achiever, which was
successfully launched on January 19, 2008, is a DP-III deepwater construction
and dive support vessel that is under construction and is expected to be
delivered in late 2008.
The Achiever's sale price was approximately $70 million, which represents
Superior Offshore's investment to date in the vessel. Superior Offshore will
use (i) $56.2 million of the proceeds to repay its term loan obligation to
Fortis Bank, which includes $55.0 million of principal and $1.2 million of
accrued interest and prepayment fees, (ii) $2.6 million to settle an interest
rate swap related to the term loan, (iii) $0.9 million for charter hire
payments due to Hornbeck for a separate vessel and (iv) $0.5 million for
certain transaction expenses. The remaining $9.4 million of proceeds will be
used to repay borrowings under Superior Offshore's senior secured credit
facility. After the application of the proceeds, Superior Offshore will have
no outstanding term debt and approximately $15 million outstanding under its
senior secured credit facility. The transaction will reduce Superior
Offshore's 2008 capital expenditure requirements by approximately $30 million.
Superior Offshore will take delivery of the Achiever or another acceptable
vessel under a five-year time charter with Hornbeck. Superior Offshore will
have the option to terminate the charter with 90 days' advance notice prior to
the end of each six-month period within the term.
Superior Offshore and Hornbeck are also exploring non-exclusive joint
marketing and cooperation agreements for new business opportunities that would
leverage the complementary resources of the two companies.
The Superior Achiever will be capable of working in harsh or deepwater
environments. Superior Offshore expects to deploy the vessel by the end of
this year to international markets and/or deepwater Gulf of Mexico projects.
About Superior Offshore International, Inc.
Superior Offshore is a leading provider of subsea construction and
commercial diving services to the offshore oil and gas industry, serving
operators internationally and domestically in the outer continental shelf of
the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. Construction services include installation, upgrading
and decommissioning of pipelines and production infrastructure. Commercial
diving services include inspection, maintenance and repair services and
support services for subsea construction and salvage operations. The company
also operates a construction/fabrication division. Superior Offshore operates
a fleet of nine service vessels and provides remotely operated vehicles (ROVs)
and saturation diving systems for deepwater and harsh environment operations.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements contained in this news release are forward-looking
statements. All statements other than statements of historical fact are, or
may be deemed to be, forward-looking statements, including statements
concerning the expected use of proceeds from the transaction, plans to pursue
business opportunities with Hornbeck and expected synergies with Hornbeck's
fleet, expected performance of the Superior Achiever, expected delivery and
deployment of the Superior Achiever, Superior Offshore's strategy and business
plans. Forward-looking statements by their nature involve substantial risks
and uncertainties that could significantly affect expected results, and actual
future results could differ materially from those described in such
statements. Although it is not possible to identify all factors, we continue
to face many risks and uncertainties. Some of the factors that could cause
actual future results to differ materially are described under the caption
"Risk Factors" in our Prospectus, dated April 19, 2007 and filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") on April 20, 2007, and our other
filings with the SEC, which may be obtained by visiting the Investor Relations
section of our website under "Financial Information" at
http://www.superioroffshore.com or from the SEC's website at
http://www.sec.gov.
Contacts:
Superior Offshore International
Roger Burks, CFO
roger.burks@superioroffshore.com 713-910-1875
DRG&E
Ken Dennard
ksdennard@drg-e.com 713-529-6600
SOURCE Superior Offshore International, Inc.
Roger Burks, CFO of Superior Offshore International, Inc., +1-713-910-1875,
roger.burks@superioroffshore.com; or Ken Dennard of DRG&E, +1-713-529-6600,
ksdennard@drg-e.com, for Superior Offshore International, Inc.
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http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS260995+22-Jan-2008+PRN20080122