Noble, an offshore drilling contractor organized in London, agreed to acquire Diamond Offshore Drilling, an offshore drilling contractor, for $1.6bn. "This acquisition enables Noble to continue our journey of delivering superior innovation and value to a broad range of the leading offshore operators across the world. Our position will be strengthened with the addition of four 7th generation drillships and one of the most high-spec harsh environment semisubmersible rigs in the world. Additionally, Diamond's five conventional deepwater and midwater rigs have averaged above 85% utilization over the last 3 years and currently have strong forward contract coverage. Supported by Diamond's $2.1bn of backlog and $100m of anticipated cost synergies, we expect the transaction to be immediately accretive to our free cash flow per share and contribute to accelerated growth in our return of capital to shareholders," Robert Eifler, Noble President and CEO.