Billionaire buys rig, ends row with Hyundai

OSLO • Billionaire investor John Fredriksen has agreed to buy an oil drilling vessel from South Korean shipyard Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries, ending a lengthy dispute, rig company Seadrill said yesterday.

Mr Fredriksen will buy the West Mira through privately held investment firm Seatankers, and not through Seadrill which is undergoing a US$14 billion (S$19.7 billion) restructuring of debt and liabilities, and where he holds a 24 per cent stake.

The price of the transaction was not disclosed, but shipping newspaper TradeWinds separately reported that Seatankers would pay only US$360 million for the rig, about half the initial cost, following a sharp fall in demand for rigs.

REUTERS

Lloyds' revamp plan a security risk: Union

LONDON • Lloyds Banking Group plans to move about 1,900 staff to IBM in a restructuring plan aimed at reducing costs, but which could see the bank's security weakened, according to a trade union.

Lloyds Trade Union said that the transferred employees would be kept on for a year, but most would lose their jobs after four years. It added that the move could weaken the bank's "existing security controls" and impact the confidentiality of customer data.

Chief executive Antonio Horta-Osorio is looking to shed thousands of jobs to streamline the business, support dividend payments and boost the share price.

REUTERS