The Firm recently represented the holding company of Saxon Energy Services in connection with its acquisition of Schlumberger Limited’s Rig Management Group. The transaction closed on December 2, 2011. As a result of the transaction, Saxon will continue to be owned by Schlumberger, affiliates of First Reserve Corporation and Saxon management.
Under the terms of the transaction, fourteen Schlumberger land drilling rigs and crews in Oman, Pakistan, and Venezuela will become part of Saxon's expanded international operations, and Saxon will provide technical drilling contracting support to existing Schlumberger joint ventures and operations in Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Iraq, and Venezuela (Lake Maracaibo). As a result of the transaction, Saxon will own and operate ninety-five drilling and work-over rigs.
The Simpson Thacher team included: Andrew Smith, Ashwin Cheriyan, Scott Naturman and Allison Wilson (M&A); Shane Fuhrman (Credit); Brian Robbins and Aimee Adler (Executive Compensation and Employee Benefits); Adeeb Fadil and Noreen Lavan (Environmental); Lori Lesser and Marcela Robledo (Intellectual Property); Krista McManus (Real Estate); and Nancy Mehlman and Seojung Park (Tax).