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Gold/Mining/Energy : Strictly: Drilling and oil-field services -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Serge Ladouceur who wrote (40001)	3/15/1999 12:36:00 PM
From: Box-By-The-Riviera™	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 95453

Monday March 15, 11:47 am Eastern Time Transocean to reorganize in Cayman Islands HOUSTON, March 15 (Reuters) - Transocean Offshore Inc. said on Monday its board approved a corporate reorganization to the Cayman Islands from Delaware in a move that should lower its tax rates and give it greater flexibility in international dealings. The contract drilling company said that under the reorganization, each common share will be converted into an ordinary share of Transocean-Cayman and that it expects to list under its current symbol ''RIG'' on the New York Stock Exchange. Following the reorganization, the Houston-based company will continue to conduct the same business it had as a Delaware corporation under its current company name, it said. Michael Talbert, chairman and chief executive, said: ''Because we anticipate that a substantial proportion of the future opportunities in our business will be in international markets, we believe that reorganizing Transocean Offshore as a Cayman Islands corporation will give us certain advantages not available to a U.S. company.'' Talbert added, ''we believe the reorganization will give us greater flexibility in seeking to lower our worldwide effective corporate tax rate.'' Transocean said the move should lower the tax rate, which was 29.5 percent in 1998, by 10 to 20 percentage points. Transocean said the reorganization is expected to give the company greater access to international capital markets, broaden its investor base and give it greater flexibility in structuring foreign joint ventures and acquisitions. The plan is subject to shareholder approval, it said. The company said it will merge with its subsidiary, Transocean Offshore (Texas) Inc., to form Transocean-Texas, which will then become a Cayman Islands corporation under the name Transocean Offshore Inc. In late morning trade on the New York Stock Exchange, Transocean stock was down 81 cents at $25.25.