Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc. has emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy and announced the retirement of its CEO, Marc Edwards, the company said in a release on April 26.

The Houston-based offshore driller filed for bankruptcy protection in Texas roughly a year ago, which was soon followed by a delisting notice by the New York Stock Exchange.

As part of a joint plan of reorganization, Diamond Offshore completed a financial restructuring on April 23 that it said resulted in the equitization of approximately $2.1 billion in senior unsecured note obligations and provided the Company with over $625 million of new available capital.

In connection with its emergence from Chapter 11, Diamond Offshore also announced that Edwards has retired as chairman, president and CEO, effective immediately. Edwards had served as CEO since 2014, when he joined the company from Halliburton Co., where he had spent almost his entire career.

Raj Iyer, former partner and senior portfolio manager at hedge fund Canyon Partners LLC, has been named chairman of a newly constituted board of directors at Diamond Offshore as part of its reorganization. Meanwhile, Ronald Woll will serve as interim CEO of the company in addition to his current position of executive vice president and COO.

Diamond Offshore on April 26 said it is currently in discussions regarding the appointment of an executive chairman and CEO and expects to make announcements in the near future.

The remaining members of Diamond Offshore’s newly constituted board include:

  • Neal Goldman, managing member of SAGE Capital Investments LLC;
  • John Hollowell, former president and CEO of Shell Midstream Partners LP;
  • Ane Launy, senior research analyst at King Street Capital Management;
  • Patrick "Carey" Lowe; former executive vice president and COO of Valaris Plc; and
  • Adam Peakes, executive vice president and CFO for Merichem Corp.

For its restructuring, Diamond Offshore was represented by Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP, Porter Hedges LLP, Alvarez & Marsal and Lazard Frères & Co. LLC.

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