Rigdon Marine Restructures Financing and Signs Shipbuilding Contract
New Orleans, Louisiana- Rigdon Marine Corporation announced the completion of a series of financial transactions which will strategically position the Company for future growth. Rigdon Marine Corporation recently signed a $170 million Credit Facility with a group of European banks led by DVB Bank and secured $30 million in equity investment.
The newly restructured "Rigdon Marine Corporation" has replaced its original financial capitalization for the recently completed GPA 640 series of 10 technically advanced platform support vessels and has obtained additional financing for a new series of 10 vessels, which it has on a firm contract with a major Louisiana shipbuilder. Vessel construction for the GPA 654 Class of platform support vessels is expected to be completed in the fall of 2008, and new boats will double the company's operational fleet.
"The success of our initial fleet of ten diesel-electric platform support vessels, designed by Guido Perla & Associates, has given the company the capability of attracting investment capital and attractive long-term debt financing," stated Larry T. Rigdon, President and CEO of Rigdon Marine Corporation. "Furthermore, our organization is committed to the redevelopment of the State of Louisiana. Our operations department will remain in the State, and we will construct our next ten vessels in the State."
Rigdon Marine Corporation, a closely held private company, with vessel operations based in Saint Rose, Louisiana, and executive offices in Houston, Texas, is a leading provider of a new generation of technologically advanced offshore support vessels in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico and select international markets. For more information on Rigdon Marine Corporation, please contact Larry T. Rigdon, President and CEO or James A. "Jay" Harkness, Chief Financial Officer, via telephone at (713) 236-9100. You may also visit the company's website at http://www.rigdonmarine.com.