Aban Offshore to tap overses funds via bond issu

The board of directors of Aban Offshore Ltd will consider and seek shareholders approval for raising overseas funds through the issue of foreign currency convertible bonds (FCCBs), American depository receipts (ADRs) or global depository receipts (GDRs), the company said in a supplementary filing with the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).

"With reference to the earlier announcement dated 10 May 2010 regarding board meeting scheduled to be held on 25 May 2010, Aban Offshore Ltd has now informed BSE that in the scheduled meeting, raising of long term funds through issue of FCCBs, ADRs, GDRs and issue of equity related securities, etc to qualified institutional buyers will also be considered," Aban Offshore said in a release.  

Aban Offshore has convened its annual general meeting on 25 May to consider and approve the audited quarterly standalone and consolidated financial results for the period ended 31 March 2010. Since the company is publishing audited financial results for the last quarter, the unaudited quarterly results will not be published, the release said.

The AGM comes after the incident of Aban's semisubmersible rig `Aban Pearl' sinking in the Venezuelan waters on 13 May, which impacted the company's stability.

While all crew members have been evacuated and are safe, the causes of semisubmersible sinking are unknown at this stage, Aban said in its release.

At the time of issuance of this statement, the company is assisting in assessment and in determination of the causes of the incident. Further updates will be provided as the situation clarifies, it said.