Noble Closes $1.6B Diamond Acquisition

Noble Corp. has closed its $1.59 billion acquisition of Diamond Offshore Drilling, creating the largest fleet of seventh generation drillships at a time in which analysts see the offshore market flattening.

Noble’s cash-and-stock deal, which totals $2 billion including debt, comes as service companies continue to consolidate in an aftershock of widespread upstream M&A.

Noble’s fleet will now include 14 working (15 total) dual BOP 7th generation drillships. It will also add approximately $2 billion of backlog, Noble said in a Sept. 4 press release.