NORTHERN DRILLING LTD: PRIVATE PLACEMENT SUCCESSFULLY PLACED

NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN OR INTO THE UNITED STATES, AUSTRALIA, CANADA OR JAPAN, OR ANY OTHER JURISDICTION IN WHICH THE RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION WOULD BE UNLAWFUL. THIS ANNOUNCEMENT DOES NOT CONSTITUTE AN OFFER OF ANY OF THE SECURITIES DESCRIBED HEREIN.

Reference is made to the stock exchange release by Northern Drilling Ltd. (OSE: NODL) (the “Company”) on November 9, 2017 regarding a contemplated private placement (the “Private Placement”) of new shares in the Company.

The Company is pleased to announce that the Private Placement has been successfully placed, raising gross proceeds of NOK 2,032,000,000 (approximately USD 250,000,000) through the placing of 31,750,000 new shares (the “Offer Shares”) at a subscription price of NOK 64 per share. The Private Placement was substantially over-subscribed.

Notices of allocation will be distributed to the investors on November 10, 2017.

Completion of the Private Placement is conditional upon the Offer Shares having been fully paid and legally issued. Settlement in the Private Placement is expected to take place on or about November 14, 2017. Following issuance of the Offer Shares, the Company will have an issued share capital of USD 77,750,100, divided into 77,750,100 common shares, each with a nominal value of USD 1.00.

In order to facilitate timely delivery of already listed shares, delivery of Offer Shares allocated in the Private Placement will be made by delivery of existing shares in the Company borrowed by the Managers from Greenwich Holdings Ltd. (“Greenwich”), the main shareholder of the Company. The shares delivered to investors in the Private Placement will thus be tradable on Oslo Axess immediately upon settlement. The Managers will settle the share loan from Greenwich with the new shares issued in connection with the Private Placement. The new shares will be registered under a separate ISIN pending approval of a listing prospectus by the Norwegian Financial Supervisory Authority (the “FSA”), and will not be listed or tradable on Oslo Axess until the listing prospectus has been approved.

Pareto Securities AS, Fearnley Securities AS, Nordea Bank AB (publ), Norwegian branch, and Carnegie AS have acted as managers in the Private Placement.

Contacts:
Gunnar W. Eliassen, CEO
+44 (0) 74 6914 0012

Additional information about the Company can be found at: https://www.northerndrillingltd.com
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Important information:

The release is not for publication or distribution, in whole or in part directly or indirectly, in or into Australia, Canada, Japan or the United States (including its territories and possessions, any state of the United States and the District of Columbia).
This release is an announcement issued pursuant to legal information obligations, and is subject of the disclosure requirements pursuant to section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act. It is issued for information purposes only, and does not constitute or form part of any offer or solicitation to purchase or subscribe for securities, in the United States or in any other jurisdiction. The securities mentioned herein have not been, and will not be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “US Securities Act”). The securities may not be offered or sold in the United States except pursuant to an exemption from the registration requirements of the US Securities Act. The Company does not intend to register any portion of the offering of the securities in the United States or to conduct a public offering of the securities in the United States. Copies of this announcement are not being made and may not be distributed or sent into Australia, Canada, Japan or the United States. The issue, exercise, purchase or sale of subscription rights and the subscription or purchase of shares in the Company are subject to specific legal or regulatory restrictions in certain jurisdictions. Neither the Company nor the Managers assumes any responsibility in the event there is a violation by any person of such restrictions.

The distribution of this release may in certain jurisdictions be restricted by law. Persons into whose possession this release comes should inform themselves about and observe any such restrictions. Any failure to comply with these restrictions may constitute a violation of the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. The Managers are acting for the Company and no one else in connection with the Private Placement and will not be responsible to anyone other than the Company providing the protections afforded to their respective clients or for providing advice in relation to the Private Placement and/or any other matter referred to in this release.

Forward-looking statements:
This release and any materials distributed in connection with this release may contain certain forward-looking statements. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty because they reflect the Company’s current expectations and assumptions as to future events and circumstances that may not prove accurate. A number of material factors could cause actual results and developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements.