Notice on compulsory purchase to the shareholders of The Drilling Company of 1972 A/S

NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN OR TO ANY JURISDICTION WHERE TO DO SO WOULD CONSTITUTE A VIOLATION OF THE RELEVANT LAWS OR REGULATIONS OF SUCH JURISDICTION.

SUGAR LAND, Texas, Oct. 4, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Pursuant to sections 70-72 of Consolidated Act no. 1952 of 11 October 2021 on public and private limited companies, Noble Corporation plc ("Noble") has today published its notice on compulsory purchase to the shareholders of The Drilling Company of 1972 A/S ("Maersk Drilling").

As a result of the compulsory purchase, all remaining Maersk Drilling shareholders, who have not accepted the recommended voluntary public share exchange offer (the "Exchange Offer") by Noble and have not sold their Maersk Drilling shares on Nasdaq Copenhagen prior to the delisting becoming effective, will be requested to transfer their Maersk Drilling shares to Noble within the four week compulsory purchase period beginning today, Tuesday, October 4, 2022 and ending on Wednesday, November 2, 2022 at 23:59 CET in accordance with section 70-72 of the Danish Companies Act. Such Maersk Drilling shareholders can elect to exchange their Maersk Drilling shares for a number of Noble shares equal to the share consideration offered to Maersk Drilling shareholders who have accepted the Exchange Offer (whereby each share in Maersk Drilling can be exchanged for 1.6137 A ordinary shares of Noble delivered in the form of share entitlements) or, alternatively, a full cash alternative, which will amount to DKK 340.98 (USD 46.79) per Maersk Drilling share.

If a Maersk Drilling shareholder elects to exchange its shares in Maersk Drilling for Noble shares, then such shareholder will initially receive acceptance shares (the "Compulsory Purchase Acceptance Shares"). Such Compulsory Purchase Acceptance Shares are not admitted to trading on Nasdaq Copenhagen and will therefore not be tradeable on Nasdaq Copenhagen. The Compulsory Purchase Acceptance Shares received in connection with the compulsory purchase are expected to be exchanged for Noble shares (in the form of share entitlements) on or around Friday, November 11, 2022.

If a Maersk Drilling shareholder elects to receive the cash alternative, then such shareholder will receive the full cash alternative for the compulsory purchase of their Maersk Drilling shares expectedly on or around November 11, 2022, and the ownership of such Maersk Drilling shares held by minority shareholders will be concurrently transferred to Noble.

Any remaining Maersk Drilling shareholders, who have not voluntarily accepted to transfer their Maersk Drilling shares to Noble prior to the expiry of the four week period ending on Wednesday, November 2, 2022, will automatically receive the full cash alternative, which will amount to DKK 340.98 (USD 46.79) per Maersk Drilling share, for the compulsory purchase of their Maersk Drilling shares expectedly on or around November 14, 2022.

Reference is made to Noble's notice, which is available at www.noblecorp.com.

About Noble

Noble is a leading offshore drilling contractor for the oil and gas industry.  The Company owns and operates one of the most modern, versatile, and technically advanced fleets in the offshore drilling industry.  Noble and its predecessors have been engaged in the contract drilling of oil and gas wells since 1921.  Noble performs, through its subsidiaries, contract drilling services with a fleet of offshore drilling units focused largely on ultra-deepwater and high specification jackup drilling opportunities in both established and emerging regions worldwide.

Capitalized terms used in this announcement but not defined herein shall have the meaning ascribed to them in the exemption document, as approved by the Danish Financial Supervisory Authority (Finanstilsynet) on August 8, 2022 (the "Exemption Document").

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

In connection with the business combination transaction, Noble filed a registration statement on Form S-4 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") that included a prospectus (the "Prospectus") of Noble to be used in connection with the Exchange Offer by Noble to acquire all outstanding shares in Maersk Drilling. The registration statement on Form S-4, as amended, was declared effective by the SEC on April 11, 2022. In addition, on August 8, 2022, the Danish Financial Supervisory Authority approved the publication of the Exemption Document and the Offer Document in connection with the Exchange Offer. Noble published the Exemption Document and the Offer Document on August 8, 2022.

INVESTORS AND SHAREHOLDERS OF MAERSK DRILLING ARE URGED TO READ THE PROXY STATEMENT/PROSPECTUS, THE EXEMPTION DOCUMENT AND THE OFFER DOCUMENT, AS WELL AS OTHER DOCUMENTS THAT HAVE BEEN OR WILL BE FILED WITH THE SEC OR THE DANISH FINANCIAL SUPERVISORY AUTHORITY OR PUBLISHED ON NOBLE'S WEBSITE AT WWW.NOBLECORP.COM REGARDING THE BUSINESS COMBINATION TRANSACTION BETWEEN NOBLE AND MAERSK DRILLING AND THE EXCHANGE OFFER BECAUSE THESE DOCUMENTS CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION.

You may also obtain a free copy of the Prospectus, an English translation of the Offer Document setting out the full terms and conditions to the Exchange Offer, and other related documents filed by Noble with the SEC on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov.

This announcement is for information purposes only and does not constitute or contain any invitation, solicitation, recommendation, offer or advice to any person to subscribe for or otherwise acquire or dispose of any securities of Noble or Maersk Drilling. Final terms and further provisions regarding the Exchange Offer are disclosed in the Offer Document, the Exemption Document and in documents filed or that will be filed with the SEC.

Unless required by mandatory law, no action has been or will be taken in any jurisdiction other than Denmark and the United States that would permit a public offering of shares in Noble, the Topco Offer Shares (as defined in the Exemption Document), the Acceptance Shares (as defined in the Exemption Document) or Cash Acceptance Shares (as defined in the Exemption Document), or permit possession or distribution of the Offer Document and/or the Exemption Document or any advertising material relating to the shares in Noble, the Topco Offer Shares the Acceptance Shares or Cash Acceptance Shares, except as described in the Offer Document or the Exemption Document.

NEITHER THE U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION NOR ANY U.S. STATE SECURITIES COMMISSION OR REGULATORY AUTHORITY HAS APPROVED OR DISAPPROVED OF THE SECURITIES ISSUED IN CONNECTION WITH THE BUSINESS COMBINATION BETWEEN NOBLE AND MAERSK DRILLING OR PASSED UPON THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THE EXEMPTION DOCUMENT, THE OFFER DOCUMENT OR ANY OTHER DOCUMENTS REGARDING THE EXCHANGE OFFER. ANY REPRESENTATION TO THE CONTRARY IS A CRIMINAL OFFENSE UNDER U.S. LAW.

In any member state of the European Economic Area other than Denmark (each a "Relevant State"), this announcement, including any attachments hereto, is only addressed to, and is only directed at Maersk Drilling Shareholders in that Relevant State that fulfil the criteria for exemption from the obligation to publish a prospectus, including qualified investors, within the meaning of Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 June 2017, as amended, (the "Prospectus Regulation").

This announcement, including any attachments hereto, has been prepared on the basis that all offers of Topco Offer Shares, Acceptance Shares and Cash Acceptance Shares offered in the Exchange Offer, other than the offer contemplated in Denmark, will be made pursuant to an exemption under the Prospectus Regulation from the requirement to produce a prospectus for offers of Topco Offer Shares, Acceptance Shares and Cash Acceptance Shares. Accordingly, any person making or intending to make any offer within a Relevant State of Topco Offer Shares, Acceptance Shares or Cash Acceptance may only do so in circumstances in which no obligation arises for Noble to produce a prospectus for such offer. Noble has not authorised, and Noble will not authorise, the making of any offer of Topco Offer Shares, Acceptance Shares or Cash Acceptance Shares through any financial intermediary, other than offers made by Noble which constitute the final offer of Topco Offer Shares, Acceptance Shares and Cash Acceptance Shares as contemplated through the Exchange Offer.

The Topco Offer Shares, the Acceptance Shares and the Cash Acceptance Shares offered in the Exchange Offer have not been, and will not be, offered to the public in any Relevant State. Notwithstanding the foregoing, an offering of the Topco Offer Shares, the Acceptance Shares and the Cash Acceptance Shares offered in the Exchange Offer may be made in a Relevant State: (i) to any qualified investor as defined in the Prospectus Regulation; (ii) to fewer than 150 natural or legal persons per Relevant State (other than qualified investors as defined in the Prospectus Regulation); (iii) to investors who acquire Topco Offer Shares, Acceptance Shares and Cash Acceptance Shares for a total consideration of at least EUR 100,000 per investor, for each separate offer; and (iv) in any other circumstances falling within Article 1(4) of the Prospectus Regulation, subject to obtaining the prior consent of Noble and provided that no such offer of Topco Offer Shares, Acceptance Shares or Cash Acceptance Shares shall result in a requirement for the publication by Noble of a prospectus pursuant to Article 3 of the Prospectus Regulation or a supplementary prospectus pursuant to Article 23 of the Prospectus Regulation.

For the purposes of the foregoing paragraph, the expression an "offer to the public" in relation to any Topco Offer Shares, Acceptance Shares or Cash Acceptance Shares in any Relevant State means the communication in any form and by any means of sufficient information on the terms of the Exchange Offer as to enable an investor to decide to participate in the Exchange Offer.

In the United Kingdom, this announcement, including any attachments hereto, is only addressed to and directed at persons who are (a) both "qualified investors" (within the meaning of the UK version of the Prospectus Regulation as it forms part of UK law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018, and either (i) persons who have professional experience in matters relating to investments falling within Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005, as amended (the "FSMA Order"); or (ii) persons who are high net worth entities falling within Article 49(2)(a) to (d) of the FSMA Order; and/or (b) persons to whom it may otherwise lawfully be communicated to, including under the FSMA Order (all such persons (a) and (b) together being referred to as "U.K. Relevant Persons"). Any investment activity to which this announcement, including any attachments hereto, is only available to U.K. Relevant Persons. Any person who is not a U.K. Relevant Person should not act on or rely on this announcement, including any attachments hereto, or any of its contents.

This announcement, including any attachments hereto, does not comprise a prospectus for the purposes of the U.K. Prospectus Regulation and has not been approved by or filed with the Financial Conduct Authority in the United Kingdom.

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS

Certain statements in this announcement, including any attachments hereto, may constitute forward-looking statements.

Forward-looking statements are statements (other than statements of historical fact) relating to future events and Noble and its subsidiaries (collectively, the "Noble Group"), Maersk Drilling and its subsidiaries (the "Maersk Drilling Group") and the combined Noble Group and Maersk Drilling Group following completion of the transactions contemplated by the business combination agreement entered into by and between Noble and Maersk Drilling to combine (the "Combined Group") anticipated or planned financial and operational performance. The words "targets", "believes", "continues", "expects", "aims", "intends", "plans", "seeks", "will", "may", "might", "anticipates", "would", "could", "should", "estimates", "projects", "potentially" or similar expressions or the negatives thereof, identify certain of these forward-looking statements. The absence of these words, however, does not mean that the statements are not forward-looking. Other forward-looking statements can be identified in the context in which the statements are made.

Although Noble believes that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable as of the date of this announcement, such forward-looking statements are based on Noble's current expectations, estimates, forecasts, assumptions and projections about the Noble Group's, the Maersk Drilling Group's and the Combined Group's business and the industry in which the Noble Group and the Maersk Drilling Group operate as well as on information which Noble has received from the Maersk Drilling Group (including with respect to forecasts prepared by Noble's management with respect to expected future financial and operating performance of Maersk Drilling) and/or which has been extracted from publications, reports and other documents prepared by the Maersk Drilling Group and/or the Noble Group and are not guarantees of future performance or development and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors beyond the Noble Group's, the Maersk Drilling Group's or the Combined Group's control that could cause the Noble Group's, the Maersk Drilling Group's and/or the Combined Group's actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.

Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should any underlying assumptions prove to be incorrect, the Noble Group's, the Maersk Drilling Group's and/or the Combined Group's actual financial condition, cash flow or results of operations could differ materially from what is described in the Exemption Document and the Offer Document, including any attachment thereto, as anticipated, believed, estimated or expected. Noble urges the Maersk Drilling Shareholders to read the Offer Document and the Exemption Document in their entirety for a more complete discussion of the factors that could affect the Combined Group's future performance and the market in which it operates.

Any forward-looking statements included in this announcement, including any attachment hereto, speak only as of today.

Noble does not intend, and does not assume, any obligations to update any forward-looking statements contained herein, except as may be required by law or the rules of the New York Stock Exchange or Nasdaq Copenhagen. All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to Noble or to persons acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements referred to above and contained in this announcement, including any attachment hereto.