Ensco - Atwood Transaction: The First of Many?

On the 30th May, Ensco announced that it had entered a definitive agreement to acquire Atwood Oceanics in an all-stock transaction. The move has been unanimously agreed by the boards of both companies and is now subject to the approval of shareholders. The deal is expected to close as soon as the third quarter 2017. Since the start of 2017 we have seen a number of deals in the offshore drilling space. In March, Borr Drilling announced it intention to acquire Transocean's fleet of jackups. Two months later, Seadrill agreed to sell three jackups to Shelf Drilling. Whilst the Ensco – Atwood deal is the first major consolidation since the downturn began in 2014, it's unlikely to be the only one this year.