New York, Feb 13, 2026, 19:33 EST — After-hours
- Transocean surged 8.5% Friday, while Valaris and Noble posted gains, too.
- Transocean’s $5.8 billion push to buy Valaris and its debt situation kept traders’ attention fixed.
- Next up: Transocean drops its results and fleet update on Feb. 19, with the call set for Feb. 20.
Transocean Ltd. shares jumped 8.5% on Friday, with the stock changing hands at $6.54 after hours. Offshore drillers rallied hard—Valaris was up around 8%, and Noble finished the session gaining about 7.6%.
Why does it matter? Transocean has become something of a merger-and-leverage play, operating in a sector still chained to oil prices and contract clarity. On Friday, shares rebounded as investors shifted their focus away from the surface-level numbers of the deal, zeroing in instead on the immediate issues of backlog and cash flow.
The update arrives just ahead of Transocean’s scheduled quarterly results and fleet status report—a data dump that tends to send these names moving quickly, with utilization and pricing in sharp focus.
This week, Transocean said it will acquire Valaris in an all-stock deal worth $5.8 billion, aiming for greater scale and efficiency to help tackle its debt load. “We know that our debt level negatively impacts our equity value. This transaction addresses that,” CEO Keelan Adamson told analysts on the call discussing the deal. (Reuters)
Setting aside M&A, Transocean picked up roughly $184 million in new contract backlog, according to a recent filing — all tied to Norwegian deals for two of its harsh-environment rigs. The Transocean Encourage secured a one-year extension that’s expected to kick off in the first quarter of 2027. As for the Transocean Enabler, newly exercised options tacked on around 70 days and keep the rig committed through December 2027. (SEC)
Oil prices found a bit of footing Friday, Brent inching up to close at $67.75 per barrel and U.S. crude ticking to $62.89. Traders were sifting through softer U.S. inflation numbers while also eyeing what OPEC+ might do next on supply. (Reuters)
Transocean shareholders are weighing if scaling up the fleet and trimming expenses can actually deliver more consistent free cash flow, and speed up paying down debt, all while avoiding heavy dilution. But in the end, it’s dayrates—the price operators pay per rig each day—that tend to drive these shares when the mood shifts.
Still, things can flip fast. Oil prices dropping, weaker contract momentum, or hiccups in the integration process—any of these could throw leverage issues right back into the spotlight for a company whose revenue already swings with big project wins and slow-burning deals.
Looking ahead, Transocean will roll out its fourth-quarter 2025 results and release its fleet status after the NYSE shuts down on Feb. 19. Then, at 9 a.m. EST on Feb. 20, the company has a teleconference on the books. (Deepwater)
