History
Borr Drilling, an offshore jack-up rig owner, survived a debt squeeze through repeated refinancings and share issues, then expanded to a 34-rig owned and jointly-owned fleet by July 2026.
2019-2020: Mexican contracts and a cash squeeze
Borr Drilling owns jack-up rigs, offshore drilling platforms that stand on the seabed. In August 2019 Pemex, the Mexican state oil company, awarded it a third contract in its Mexico 'Cluster 2'. The first rig, Grid, was starting work and the second, Gersemi, was to follow shortly. Borr was also paying for newbuild rigs. In February 2020 it replaced a $50 million delivery financing on the rig Tivar with a $100 million facility running to the end of 2021. Remaining newbuild spending was $707 million, of which $620 million was financed.
Pressure showed in the share price. In May 2020 the NYSE warned that the shares had averaged under $1.00 for 30 trading days. Borr raised $30 million gross by selling 46,153,846 depositary receipts at $0.65. Compliance was regained in July, but in September the NYSE warned again, with a new deadline of February 25, 2021.
2021-2022: Creditors, a rescue raise and the big refinancing
In January 2021 all creditors approved a liquidity plan: bank repayments falling to zero in 2021, bank and Hayfin maturities pushed to 2023, interest deferred and newbuild deliveries moved to 2023. It depended on an equity raise, which brought in $46 million, above the $40 million planned. Results stayed weak: the first quarter showed a $58.1 million net loss, and the second a $59.9 million loss. In August 2021 Borr sold its stake in two Mexican integrated well services ventures, releasing $26.5 million net cash. By November it was in talks with one major creditor to push commitments beyond 2023.
The deal arrived in 2022. In June Borr agreed to sell three newbuilds (Tivar, Huldra, Heidrun) for $320 million to pay their delivery instalments. In August it priced a public offering of 69,444,444 shares at $3.60, which, with the over-allotment option, grossed $274.9 million from 76,363,071 shares. That compared with about 152.9 million shares outstanding at the end of April. In October the Gyme, a never-contracted rig, was sold for $120 million, and Borr's Mexican venture signed contracts for five rigs through the end of 2025 worth $715 million. The nine-month 2022 report showed revenue of $295.2 million and a net loss of $271.5 million, including a $131.7 million impairment (a write-down of asset values). Secured debt was extended to 2025, and two newbuild deliveries were deferred to 2025.
2023-2024: Convertibles, big notes and buybacks
In early 2023 Borr replaced a $350 million convertible bond due in May with $250 million of 5.00% convertibles due 2028 and $150 million of 9.5% secured bonds. It lent 25 million shares to help investors hedge, and 15 million new shares went to major shareholder Drew Holdings. First-quarter revenue was $172.0 million with a $7.4 million net loss, and all debt then matured in 2025 or later.
In October 2023 Borr priced $1.54 billion of senior secured notes, $1,025 million due 2028 at a 10.000% coupon and $515 million due 2030 at 10.375%, to repay all secured borrowings. It also placed 7,522,838 new shares at USD 6.6464 for $50 million. In December the board approved a buyback of up to $100 million. Add-on notes followed: $200 million in February 2024, $150 million in August to buy and activate the newbuild Vali, and $175 million in October for the newbuild Var. In November 2024 Oslo Børs approved a delisting, effective December 31, 2024, leaving New York as the sole listing. In November Borr began buying back shares, committing to $20 million by year end; 4,745,586 shares were bought for about $18.6 million.
2025: A cheaper raise and a new leadership
In March 2025 Borr cancelled 19,680,391 treasury shares from the share lending arrangement. In July it sold 50 million shares at $2.05, raising $102.5 million gross, well below the roughly $4 paid in the November 2024 buyback. Shareholders raised authorised shares from 315 million to 365 million, and the offering completed in August. A super senior revolver was enlarged to $200 million and a $34 million revolver was added, both undrawn at September 30. Bruno Morand became CEO on September 1, with Patrick Schorn as Executive Chair. In October Borr terminated contracts for Odin and Hild after sanctions hit a counterparty.
2025-2026: Growth and a lower-cost debt stack
In December 2025 Borr agreed to buy five rigs from Noble Corporation for $360 million. It was funded by about $165 million of added 2030 notes, a $150 million seller's credit due 2032 and a planned sale of 21 million shares for about $85 million. Borr also began trading on Euronext Growth Oslo on December 19. The purchase closed on January 28, 2026, taking the fleet to 29 rigs, of which 25 were operating or committed.
In March 2026 Borr agreed to buy five more rigs in Mexico for $287 million through BC Ventures, a 50/50 venture with its Mexican partner. In April it sold $300 million of 3.50% convertible notes due 2033, convertible at about $8.00, and agreed to repurchase $195.2 million of the 2028 convertibles for $224.5 million. In May it priced $2.035 billion of new secured notes, $1,100 million at 8.750% due 2032 and $935 million at 9.000% due 2034. By June 29, 2026, all the 2028 and 2030 notes had been repurchased or redeemed, and Borr was listed on Euronext Oslo Børs from May 21. On July 29, 2026, BC Ventures completed its purchase, financed by a $237 million non-recourse seller's credit maturing in January 2029. Borr then stated its owned and jointly-owned fleet at 34 rigs.
Written from the 43 story beats below (2019 to 29 July 2026), which come from the company's own announcements and filings.