Investing.com - Shares of Ship Finance International Ltd (NYSE:SFL) climbed on Wednesday following the news that the company and certain of its subsidiaries have entered into a restructuring agreement in connection with Seadrill Limited (NYSE:SDRL) Chapter 11 Restructuring.
As part of Seadrill's plan, Ship Finance and three subsidiaries which own and lease the West Linus, West Hercules and West Taurus drilling rigs to Seadrill have agreed to reduce the contractual charter hire by approximately 30% for five years starting in 2018, with the reduced amounts added back in the period thereafter. While the cut isn't good news for Ship Finance, investors are digesting it as a "better-than-expected" outcome, and bidding shares higher.
Ship Finance goes ex-dividend on September 14. Shares were up 5.6% at $14.10 Wednesday afternoon.