Transocean is a leading international provider of offshore contract drilling services for oil and gas wells. We specialize in technically demanding sectors of the global offshore drilling business with a particular focus on deepwater and harsh environment drilling services. We believe our mobile offshore drilling fleet is one of the most versatile fleets in the world. Our primary business is to contract our drilling rigs, related equipment and work crews predominantly on a dayrate basis to drill oil and gas wells. At December 31, 2011, we owned, had partial ownership interests in and operated 135 mobile offshore drilling units, consisting of 50 High-Specification Floaters (Ultra- Deepwater, Deepwater and Harsh Environment semisubmersibles and drillships), 25 Midwater Floaters, nine High- Specification Jackups, 50 Standard Jackups and one swamp barge. We also had two Ultra-Deepwater Floaters and four High-Specification Jackups under construction (see Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements— Note 10—Drilling Fleet on page AR-98 et seq. of this Annual Report).
We also provide oil and gas drilling management services, drilling engineering and drilling project management services provided through Applied Drilling Technology Inc., our wholly owned subsidiary, and through ADT International, a division of one of our U.K. subsidiaries (together, “ADTI”). ADTI conducts drilling management services primarily on either a dayrate or a completed-project, fixed-price (or “turnkey”) basis.
In February 2011, we sold the subsidiary that owns the High-Specification Jackup Trident 20, located in the Caspian Sea. In March 2011, we engaged an unaffiliated advisor to coordinate the sale of the assets of our oil and gas properties reporting unit, a component of our other operations segment, which comprises the exploration, development and production activities performed by Challenger Minerals Inc. and Challenger Minerals (North Sea) Limited (together, “CMI”). As a result of these actions, we reclassified to discontinued operations the operating results associated with our Caspian Sea operations and our oil and gas operations. Additionally, we reclassified the assets and liabilities of these components as held for sale. In October 2011, we completed the sale of Challenger Minerals (North Sea) Limited (see Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements—Note 7— Discontinued Operations on page AR-94 et seq. of this Annual Report and Note 28—Subsequent Events on page AR-138 of this Annual Report).
In October 2011, we completed our acquisition of Aker Drilling, a Norwegian company formerly listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange. In connection with the acquisition, we acquired two Harsh Environment, Ultra-Deepwater semisubmersibles currently operating on long-term contracts in Norway. Additionally, we acquired two Ultra-Deepwater drillships currently under construction at the Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. Ltd. shipyard in Korea, which have expected deliveries in 2014 (see Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements—Note 4—Business Combination on page AR-89 et seq. of this Annual Report).
1.2 Significant Shareholders
The table below sets forth the persons or entities known to the Company as of December 31, 2011 (i) to be holding beneficially 3% or more of the Company’s share capital registered in the commercial register of the Canton of Zug (the “Commercial Register”) or (ii) from whom the Company has received a notice pursuant to the Swiss Federal Act on Stock Exchanges and Securities Trading (the “SESTA”) that since its last notice to the Company it reduced its beneficial holding of the Company’s share capital below 3% of the Company’s share capital registered in the Commercial Register. Each share carries one vote at a general meeting of shareholders of the Company and, as such, the number of shares held by each person or entity set forth below is equal to the number of voting rights held by such person or entity. The SESTA and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, to which the Company and beneficial owners of its shares are subject, requires persons who directly, indirectly or in concert with other parties acquire or dispose of Transocean shares or purchase or sale rights or obligations relating to Transocean shares, and, thereby, directly, indirectly or in concert with other parties reach, exceed or fall below a threshold of 3%, 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, 25%, 33⅓%, 50% or 66⅔% of the Company’s voting rights (whether exercisable or not) to notify the Company and the Disclosure Office of SIX of such acquisition or disposal in writing.
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