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Court blocks Transocean payout

A court in canton Zug has prevented oil rig company Transocean from paying a $1 billion (SFr982 million) dividend to its shareholders.

Transocean, which is based in Zug, is considering filing an appeal to the Federal Court by January 24.







The firm wanted to register the first of four partial par value reductions in the amount of SFr0.86 per issued share – as agreed to by shareholders in May after a proposal made by the board in February.

But in August, the Zug commercial register blocked the dividend payout because of lawsuits pending over a massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico earlier this year, the worst in US history.

The company hit the headlines in April, when the Deepwater Horizon rig it had leased to BP exploded and sank, triggering billions of dollars of damage.

Although it was established in the US, its headquarters were moved to Zug in 2008, and this year the company joined other firms listed on the blue-chip Swiss Market Index.

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