M&A Deal Summary

Noble Acquires Frontier Drilling ASA

On June 28, 2010, Noble acquired energy services and equipment company Frontier Drilling ASA from aPriori Capital Partners, The Carlyle Group, Riverstone Holdings and Avista Healthcare Partners for 2.2B USD

Acquisition Highlights
  • This is Noble’s 1st transaction in the Energy Services and Equipment sector.
  • This is Noble’s largest (disclosed) transaction.
  • This is Noble’s 1st transaction in the United States.
  • This is Noble’s 1st transaction in Texas.

M&A Deal Summary
Date 2010-06-28
Target Frontier Drilling ASA
Sector Energy Services and Equipment
Buyer(s) Noble
Sellers(s) aPriori Capital Partners
The Carlyle Group
Riverstone Holdings
Avista Healthcare Partners
Deal Type Add-on Acquisition
Deal Value 2.2B USD
Advisor(s) Goldman Sachs (Financial)

Target

Frontier Drilling ASA

Houston, Texas, United States
Frontier Drilling ASA is an oil field services company focused on consolidating the niche market of conventionally moored drillships. The company also participates in the deepwater drilling and production market.

Search 200,500 Deals Now

SEARCH BY

  • Buyer Type (PE or Strategic)
  • Deal Size ($10M to $10B+)
  • Sector (60 Sectors)
  • Deal Type
  • Geography
  • & More

Try For Free 7-Day Free Trial

Buyer(S) 1

Buyer

Noble

Sugar Land, Texas, United States
Category Company
Founded 1921
Sector Energy Services and Equipment
Employees3,600
Revenue 2.6B USD (2023)
DESCRIPTION

Noble is an offshore drilling contractor for the oil and gas industry. Noble performs, through its subsidiaries, contract drilling services with a fleet of 77 offshore drilling units (including two ultra-deepwater drillships and four high-specification jackup drilling rigs currently under construction), located worldwide, including in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico and Alaska, Mexico, Brazil, the North Sea, the Mediterranean, West Africa, the Middle East, India, Malaysia, and Australia. Noble was founded in 1921 and is based in Sugar Land, Texas.

DEAL STATS #
Overall 1 of 3
Sector (Energy Services and Equipment) 1 of 2
Type (Add-on Acquisition) 1 of 2
State (Texas) 1 of 3
Country (United States) 1 of 3
Year (2010) 1 of 1
Size (of disclosed) 1 of 3
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2021-03-25 Pacific Drilling

Houston, Texas, United States

Pacific Drilling is an offshore drilling contractor for the oil and gas industry. Pacific Drilling's fleet of seven drillships represents one of the youngest and most technologically advanced fleets in the world. Pacific Drilling was founded in 2008 and is based in Houston, Texas.

Buy $30M

Seller(S) 4

SELLER

aPriori Capital Partners

Investor Investor Investor

Category Private Equity Firm
Founded 1985
PE ASSETS 2.0B USD
Size Large
Type Sector Agnostic
DESCRIPTION

aPriori Capital Partners (formerly DLJ Merchant Banking Partners) is a middle-market private equity firm focused on middle-market buyouts in the US and Europe. Sectors of interest include healthcare, retail, consumer, energy, business services, and industrial. aPriori was originally established in 1985 and has offices in New York and Los Angeles.

DEAL STATS #
Overall 28 of 51
Sector (Energy Services and Equipment) 3 of 3
Type (Add-on Acquisition) 12 of 22
State (Texas) 3 of 5
Country (United States) 23 of 38
Year (2010) 3 of 5
Size (of disclosed) 7 of 21
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2010-06-14 RathGibson

Lincolnshire, Illinois, United States

RathGibson, Inc. is a manufacturer of high–performance welded austenitic stainless steel and specialty alloy tubing. RathGibson tubing is chosen where strength, durability and resistance to heat and corrosion are crucial. Representative end uses occur in industries such as oil and gas production and exploration, power generation, food and dairy, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, petrochemicals and semiconductors.

Buy -
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2010-11-03 MGM

Beverly Hills, California, United States

MGM is an entertainment company focused on the production and global distribution of film and television content across all platforms. The company owns one of the world’s deepest libraries of premium film and television content.

Sell -
SELLER

The Carlyle Group

Washington, District of Columbia, United States

Investor Investor Investor Investor Investor

Category Private Equity Firm
Founded 1987
PE ASSETS 435.0B USD
Size Mega
Type Sector Agnostic
DESCRIPTION
Carlyle's corporate headquarters on Pennsylvania Ave. in Washington, DC.
Carlyle's corporate headquarters on Pennsylvania Ave. in Washington, DC.

The Carlyle Group is a global investment firm that pursues private equity, credit, and real estate investments worldwide. Carlyle's private equity practice practice pursues buyouts, strategic minority equity investments, equity private placements, consolidations and buildups, and growth capital financings. With offices in 19 countries, Carlyle can easily target opportunities throughout North America, Europe, Asia, Australia, the Middle East/North Africa and Latin America. Broad sectors of interest include aerospace, defense, automotive and transportation, consumer, retail, energy and power, financial services, healthcare, industrial, infrastructure, technology services, business services, telecommunications and media. The Carlyle Group was formed in 1987 and is based in Washington DC.

DEAL STATS #
Overall 150 of 480
Sector (Energy Services and Equipment) 8 of 16
Type (Add-on Acquisition) 76 of 197
State (Texas) 17 of 38
Country (United States) 97 of 259
Year (2010) 12 of 23
Size (of disclosed) 19 of 135
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2010-06-28 China Fishery Group

Hong Kong, China

China Fishery Group manages and operates fishing vessels; and sells fish and other marine catches, fishmeal, and fish oil. The company offers frozen whole, headed and gutted, frozen fillets, and roe and milt fish products. China Fishery Group was formed in 2006 and is based in Hong Kong.

Buy -
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2010-07-07 Otor SA

Paris, France

Otor SA is the second largest producer of corrugated board and the industry leader for production of recycled containerboard in France.

Sell €247M
SELLER

Riverstone Holdings

New York, New York, United States

Investor Investor Investor Investor Investor

Category Private Equity Firm
Founded 2000
PE ASSETS 40.0B USD
Size Mega
Type Sector Focused
DESCRIPTION

Riverstone Holdings is a large specialist asset management and private equity firm focused on opportunities in the energy and power industry. Specific areas of interest include oil & gas exploration, midstream transportation/logistics, electric generation, energy & power service, power infrastructure, and energy & power technology. Riverstone Holdings was formed in 2000 and is based in New York, New York.

DEAL STATS #
Overall 16 of 57
Sector (Energy Services and Equipment) 8 of 18
Type (Add-on Acquisition) 6 of 30
State (Texas) 9 of 26
Country (United States) 14 of 42
Year (2010) 4 of 5
Size (of disclosed) 4 of 19
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2010-06-15 CanEra Resources

Houston, Texas, United States

CanEra Resources Inc. is an oil and gas exploration and production company with a focus in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin.

Sell $500M
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2010-07-01 Mistral Energy

Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Mistral Energy focuses on the identification and development of investment opportunities within the Western Canadian natural gas and liquids midstream sector. The Company is currently developing Vantage Pipeline, a 430-mile ethane pipeline connecting producers in North Dakota to Alberta petrochemical demand.

Buy -
SELLER

Avista Healthcare Partners

New York, New York, United States
Category Private Equity Firm
Founded 2005
PE ASSETS 8.0B USD
Size Mega
Type Sector Focused
DESCRIPTION

Avista Capital Partners is a private investment firm formed by a group of professionals with roots from DLJ Merchant Banking Partners. Avista makes controlling and minority investments in US based energy, healthcare, and media companies with revenues greater than $25 million. Typical transactions include leverage buyouts, build-ups, and growth capital financings. Avista Capital was formed in 2005 and is based in New York City with an additional office in Houston, Texas.

DEAL STATS #
Overall 6 of 30
Sector (Energy Services and Equipment) 1 of 2
Type (Add-on Acquisition) 2 of 15
State (Texas) 3 of 6
Country (United States) 5 of 24
Year (2010) 1 of 1
Size (of disclosed) 2 of 11
PREVIOUS DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2010-06-07 OptiNose

Yardley, Pennsylvania, United States

OptiNose is a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of products for patients cared for by, or in consultation with, ear, nose, and throat (ENT) or allergy specialists. OptiNose was founded in 2000 and is based in Yardley, Pennsylvania.

Buy -
FOLLOWING DEAL
DATE TARGET DEAL TYPE VALUE
2010-08-19 Syneos Health

Morrisville, North Carolina, United States

Syneos Health is a fully integrated biopharmaceutical solutions organization built to accelerate customer success. Syneos Health translate unique clinical, medical affairs and commercial insights into outcomes to address modern market realities. Syneos Health was founded in 2010 and is based in Morrisville, North Carolina.

Buy $600M
Mergr

Product

Company

Legal