/NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWS SERVICES OR
DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED
STATES/
CALGARY, AB, Aug. 23, 2022 /CNW/ - STAMPEDE DRILLING INC.
(TSXV: SDI) ("Stampede", or the "Corporation") is
pleased to announce it has closed its acquisition of six drilling
rigs and related assets (the "Acquisition") and its public
offering of common shares (the "Offered Shares") for
aggregate gross proceeds of approximately $26.6 million (the "Offering").
Pursuant to the Offering, Stampede issued 83,202,000 Offered
Shares, including 5,077,000 Offered Shares issued pursuant to the
exercise of the over-allotment option granted to the Agents
(defined below). The Offering was conducted by a syndicate of
agents led by Peters & Co. Limited (the "Lead Agent"),
and included Acumen Capital Finance Partners Limited, Lightyear
Capital Inc. and Stifel FirstEnergy (collectively with the Lead
Agent, the "Agents").
The Corporation has directed approximately $21.5 million of the proceeds of the Offering
towards the purchase price of the Acquisition with the residual
amount of proceeds expected to be used to partially fund capital
upgrades on the purchased assets and other capital expenditures as
determined by the Corporation.
Additionally, on August 9,
Stampede entered into an amending agreement with HSBC Bank of
Canada, which increased the total
aggregate credit capacity available under its credit facility (the
"Credit Facility") and term loan facility (the "Term Loan
Facility") to a maximum of $32.5
million effective upon closing of the Offering and the
Acquisition. Additional draws under Stampede's lending facilities
will be used to fund capital upgrades on the assets purchased
pursuant to the Acquisition.
Subject to the Corporation's expected investment of
approximately $5 million (an
anticipated investment of approximately $1
million per double rig) for required upgrades and
recertification, Stampede anticipates that the two double rigs and
three heavy double rigs purchased pursuant to the Acquisition will
be working under short-term or long-term contracts by the end of
2022. The Corporation anticipates that the super spec triple rig
will be ready for work in mid-2023 subsequent to an additional
anticipated investment by the Corporation of approximately
$5 million to upgrade, refurbish and
recertify the super spec triple.
"We are excited to announce the completion of the
Acquisition, which furthers our goal of being Canada's safest and most efficient drilling
services provider," stated Lyle
Whitmarsh, President and CEO of Stampede. "Furthermore, the
completion of the Offering for the maximum gross proceeds and the
amendment to our Credit Facility and Term Loan Facility provide
additional financial flexibility that will allow us to respond to
customer requests and capitalize on potential acquisition
opportunities."
No securities regulatory authority has either approved or
disapproved of the contents of this news release.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Certain statements contained in this News Release constitute
forward-looking statements or forward-looking information
(collectively, "forward-looking information").
Forward-looking information relates to future events or the
Corporation's future performance. All information other than
statements of historical fact is forward-looking information. The
use of any of the words "anticipate", "plan", "contemplate",
"continue", "estimate", "expect", "intend", "propose", "might",
"may", "will", "could", "should", "believe", "predict", and
"forecast" are intended to identify forward-looking
information.
This News Release contains forward-looking information
pertaining to, among other things: the Acquisition, including
the anticipated benefits to the Corporation; the Offering,
including the use of proceeds and the anticipated benefits thereof;
the expected in-service date of the rigs acquired pursuant to the
Acquisition; estimated capital expenditures required to upgrade,
recertify and refurbish the rigs acquired pursuant to the
Acquisition; and the anticipated use of funds drawn from the
Corporation's lending facilities, among others.
Forward-looking information is based on certain assumptions that
the Corporation has made in respect thereof as at the date of this
News Release regarding, among other things: oil and gas industry
exploration and development activity levels and the geographic
region of such activity; prevailing commodity prices, interest
rates, carbon prices, tax rates and exchange rates; future
operating costs; that favourable circumstances continue to exist in
respect of the operation of the assets acquired pursuant to the
Acquisition; management's ability to successfully integrate the
assets acquired pursuant to the Acquisition into the operations of
the Corporation; the Corporation's ability to successfully contract
out the rigs acquired pursuant to the Acquisition; that the
Corporation can complete the necessary upgrades, recertification,
and refurbishment of the rigs acquired pursuant to the Acquisition
for the amounts estimated; and that there are no unforeseen events
preventing the performance of contracts or the completion of the
relevant projects.
Forward-looking information is presented in this News Release
for the purpose of assisting investors and others in understanding
certain key elements of the Corporation's financial results and
business plan, as well as the objectives, strategic priorities and
business outlook of the Corporation, and in obtaining a better
understanding of the Corporation's anticipated operating
environment. Readers are cautioned that such forward-looking
information may not be appropriate for other purposes.
While Stampede believes the expectations and material factors
and assumptions reflected in the forward-looking information is
reasonable as of the date hereof, there can be no assurance that
these expectations, factors and assumptions will prove to be
correct. Forward-looking information is not a guarantee of future
performance and actual results or events could differ materially
from the expectations of the Corporation expressed in or implied by
such forward-looking information. Accordingly, readers should not
place undue reliance on forward-looking information. All
forward-looking information is subject to a number of known and
unknown risks and uncertainties including, but not limited to: the
condition of the global economy, including trade, inflation, the
ongoing conflict in Ukraine and
other geopolitical risks; the condition of the crude oil and
natural gas industry and related commodity prices; other commodity
prices and the potential impact on the Corporation and the industry
in which the Corporation operates, including levels of exploration
and development activities; the failure to realize the anticipated
benefits and/or synergies of the Acquisition following closing due
to integration issues or otherwise; the impact of increasing
competition; fluctuations in operating results; the ongoing
significant volatility in world markets and the resulting impact on
drilling and completions programs; foreign currency exchange rates;
interest rates; labour and material shortages; cyber security
risks; natural catastrophes; and certain other risks and
uncertainties detailed in the Corporation's management's discussion
and analysis and annual information form each dated March 24, 2022, for the year ended
December 31, 2021, the
Corporation's management's discussion and analysis dated
July 28, 2022, and from time to time
in Stampede's public disclosure documents available on SEDAR at
www.sedar.com.
This list of risk factors should not be construed as exhaustive.
Readers are cautioned that events or circumstances could cause
actual results to differ materially from those predicted,
forecasted, or projected. Statements, including forward-looking
information, are made as of the date of this News Release and the
Corporation does not undertake any obligation to update or revise
any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required
by applicable securities laws. The forward-looking information
contained in this News Release is expressly qualified by this
cautionary statement.
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services
Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture
Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of
this release.
SOURCE Stampede Drilling Inc.
