Seahawk Drilling Inc., which
provides drilling services to the oil and natural gas
industries, filed for bankruptcy protection with plans to sell
its assets to Hercules Offshore Inc.

Seahawk will seek court approval for the sale to Hercules,
an offshore drilling company, as part of its bankruptcy case,
which was filed yesterday with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Corpus Christi, Texas.

“It is imperative to commence the process approving the
sale to Hercules, which the debtors’ believe will result in the
highest value for the debtors’ assets,” Seahawk Chief Executive
Officer Randall Stilley said in court papers today. “Because of
the lack of capital, continued operation of the debtors’
business without a sale of the purchased assets is not an
option.”

Seahawk, based in Houston, will receive $25 million in cash
plus 22.3 million shares of Houston-based Hercules common stock
under the sale agreement, according to court papers.

Seahawk listed assets of between $500 million and $1
billion and between $500 million to $1 billion in debt in its
bankruptcy petition.

The case is In Re Seahawk Drilling Inc., 11-20089, U.S.
Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of Texas (Corpus Christi).

To contact the reporter on this story:
David McLaughlin dmclaughlin9@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Sylvia Wier at swier@bloomberg.net