SDRL - Seadrill Announces Forbearance Agreements

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Sep 16, 2020, 05:08 ET

HAMILTON, Bermuda, Sept. 16, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Seadrill Limited ("Seadrill" or the "Company") (OSE: SDRL) (OTCQX: SDRLF) announces that it has entered into forbearance agreements with certain creditors in respect of the group's senior secured credit facility agreements, senior secured notes, and guarantee facility agreement.

Pursuant to the forbearance agreements, the consenting creditors have agreed not to exercise any voting rights to, or otherwise take actions, in respect of certain events of default that may arise under the senior secured credit facility agreements, senior notes and guarantee facility agreement as a result of the group not making certain interest payments falling due in September 2020 under the group's senior secured credit agreements until and including the earlier of 29 September 2020 and any termination of the forbearance agreements. Forbearance has not yet been agreed with respect to termination events that may arise under the Company's leasing agreements in respect of the West Hercules, West Linus and West Taurus. Without a forbearance in respect of these leasing agreements, a non-payment of interest under the agreements covered by the forbearance agreements that have been agreed could result in enforcement of a cross-default under such leasing agreements.

The purpose of the forbearance agreements is to allow the Company and its stakeholders more time to negotiate on the head terms of a comprehensive restructuring of its balance sheet. Such a restructuring may involve the use of a court-supervised process. The Company continues to evaluate capital structure proposals from its financial stakeholders; whilst no agreement has been reached at this point it is expected that potential solutions will lead to significant equitization of debt which is likely to result in minimal or no recovery for current shareholders.

The Company has engaged Kirkland & Ellis LLP as legal counsel, Houlihan Lokey, Inc. as financial advisor, and Alvarez & Marsal as restructuring advisor. Slaughter and May has been engaged as corporate counsel and Advokatfirmaet Thommessen AS is serving as Norwegian counsel.

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS

This news release includes forward looking statements. Such statements are generally not historical in nature, and specifically include statements about the Company's plans, strategies, business prospects, changes and trends in its business, the markets in which it operates and its restructuring efforts. These statements are made based upon management's current plans, expectations, assumptions and beliefs concerning future events impacting the Company and therefore involve a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this news release. Consequently, no forward-looking statement can be guaranteed. When considering these forward-looking statements, you should keep in mind the risks described from time to time in the Company's regulatory filings and periodical reporting. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which such statement is made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. New factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for the Company to predict all of these factors. Further, the Company cannot assess the impact of each such factor on its business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to be materially different from those contained in any forward looking statement.

This information is subject of the disclosure requirements pursuant to section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act.

CONTACT:

Tel: +44 (0)20 3745 4960
[email protected]

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https://news.cision.com/seadrill-limited/r/sdrl---seadrill-announces-forbearance-agreements,c3194755

SOURCE Seadrill Limited

2020 Porsche Macan GTS — The GTS looks great in Carmine Red.
Steven Ewing/Roadshow

At this point, GTS in Porsche parlance should just stand for Get This Spec. The company's GTS-badged cars strike the best balance between outright performance and daily drivability, and that's as true in this 2020 Macan as it is in any 718, 911, Cayenne or Panamera. I've driven the S and I've driven the Turbo, but the GTS is the Macan I'd park in my garage.

8.5

2020 Porsche Macan GTS

MSRP

$71,300

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Like

Outstanding chassis balance
Sports car-like steering
Sonorous sport exhaust
Robust infotainment tech

Don't Like

Twin-turbo V6 lacks character
Gets expensive in a hurry

The GTS uses a detuned version of the 2.9-liter twin-turbo V6 from the Macan Turbo. Here, the engine produces 375 horsepower and 383 pound-feet of torque -- noticeable reductions compared to the Turbo's 434 hp and 405 lb-ft. But on the road, you'd have a hard time noticing the difference. This engine lacks visceral drama, though I think that's less egregious when the associated output numbers are lower. The GTS at least makes up for this somewhat with a standard sport exhaust, which adds some sonority to the powertrain's buttoned-up demeanor.

Porsche says the GTS can accelerate to 60 mph in as little as 4.5 seconds with the optional Sport Chrono package, which is 0.4 seconds slower than the Macan Turbo. I genuinely don't believe that less-than-half-a-second discrepancy is something anyone can feel during daily driving on public roads. And since the engine's torque is fully available from just 1,750 rpm, there's never a lack of urgency to the GTS' acceleration, whether pulling away from a stoplight or just trying to shoot the gap between slower cars on the highway.

2020 Porsche Macan GTS is the one to get

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The seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox is always up for an impromptu downshift via the steering wheel-mounted paddles, and the Sport and Sport Plus modes -- the latter is part of the $1,360 Sport Chrono package -- alter the throttle and transmission programming just enough to liven up the Macan's character. You could drive the GTS in Sport mode all day, every day without it ever feeling high-strung, while Sport Plus is best left for tighter sections of winding roads where you'll want to take advantage of its tendency to hold gears up near the engine's redline.

The GTS' powertrain is fine, but the chassis, steering and brakes really make this Macan feel special. Porsche's adaptive air suspension comes standard and can lower the Macan by 10 millimeters in Sport and Sport Plus modes. Porsche's Active Suspension Management (PASM) dampers are a perfect match to the air-ride system, delivering a smooth ride on broken pavement while keeping the GTS taut and composed on smooth stretches of canyon roads. Even with my tester's upsized 21-inch wheels and staggered 265/40 front and 295/35 rear tires, the Macan never feels too stiff or too floaty for any given scenario. Honestly, the ride quality might be the GTS' single best attribute.

Porsche always gets its cars' steering right, and the Macan GTS is no exception. The weight and communication on offer are more akin to that of a 718 Cayman than any other compact SUV, with a right-sized steering wheel adorned with only a few redundant controls. My tester has Porsche's Surface Coated Brakes (PSCB), which were kind of bad when they first launched on the Cayenne, but have since been reworked with new pads, better pedal feel and a more progressive stopping experience. Now, these brakes are quite good and reduce dust buildup on the wheels. Whether they're worth the $3,490 upgrade over the perfectly fine standard steel brakes, though, is hard to say.

One option worth adding is Porsche's brake-based torque-vectoring tech, for $1,500. This ability to modulate power from side to side at the rear axle improves the Macan's cornering reflexes, making this already-sharp little crossover even more entertaining. You'll never feel it working, but you'll find it easier to keep up with smaller, more powerful sports cars on mountain roads.

Going for the GTS gets you the Sport Design exterior treatment, with black-painted exterior accents, LED headlights and a darker tint to the rear taillight bar. Inside, you get sport seats wrapped in leather, though you can have the whole cabin done up in Alcantara suede with Carmine Red stitching as part of the $4,790 GTS Interior Package. Like all Macans, the GTS is plenty comfortable for driver and passenger up front, but the rear seats are awfully small, even by compact SUV measurements.

The Macan got a welcome tech upgrade as part of a refresh in 2018 and now runs Porsche's Communication Management infotainment software on a 10.9-inch touchscreen. PCM continues to impress with its quick responses to inputs, online search tools, bright graphics and reconfigurable home screen. A Wi-Fi hotspot and Apple CarPlay are standard, but Android Auto is still a no-go. Too bad.

Look below the touchscreen, though, and you'll find a sea of controls on the console -- a reminder that the Macan is a bit older than Porsche's other models. Sure, the rows of buttons are clearly labeled and easy to use, they just look outdated, especially compared to the flush, backlit designs of Porsche's newer products.

I'd love to tell you about all of the Macan's standard driver-assistance features, but as is the case with every Porsche, all the good stuff costs extra and is available a la carte. A surround-view camera is $1,200. You can buy lane-change assist and lane-keeping assist for $700 apiece, or just spend $1,380 and get them as part of a bundle. Adaptive cruise control comes in for an additional $1,170, and if you want freaking keyless entry, that's an extra $800, too. Sheesh.

There are myriad options available for the Macan GTS, so its $73,450 starting price (including $1,350 for destination) is just that: the start. My Carmine Red tester is a German-spec model that Porsche flew over for testing, so I don't have an exact price for the SUV you see here. Playing around to the best of my ability on Porsche's configurator, I'm going to guesstimate an as-tested price of $94,000 out the door, give or take a few Benjamins.

If you compare price tags, the Macan GTS is sort of a hard sell against competitors like the BMW X3 M40i or Mercedes-AMG GLC43, both of which can be nicely equipped for less than the Porsche's starting MSRP. But the Macan -- especially the GTS -- is the best-driving, best-balanced SUV of the bunch and handily punches above its weight. If performance is a priority, you definitely get what you pay for.

8.5

2020 Porsche Macan GTS

MSRP

$71,300

View Local Inventory

Score Breakdown

Performance

9 Features

8 Design

8.5 Media

8.5

Specs

See full specs

Engine Turbocharged, V6 Cylinder Engine Drivetrain All Wheel, All Wheel Drive MPG 19 MPG Passenger Capacity 5 Body Type Crossovers, SUVs

Discuss: 2020 Porsche Macan GTS review: Emphasis on performance

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