The move strengthens H&P’s global presence, particularly in the Middle East, and diversifies its portfolio. The combined company will be a leading provider of onshore drilling solutions, offering advanced technology and services.

CEO of KCA Deutag, Joseph Elkhoury, said: “This announcement represents a significant milestone in the strategic transformation journey of KCA Deutag and delivers benefits to all stakeholders: our employees, customers, shareholders and the communities where we live and work.

“We look forward to joining H&P, combining the strengths of our people together with our geographical footprint, to create an organisation with an unrivalled global network, service capability and technology offering.

“The size, scale and financial strength of the combined organisation will provide a stable foundation for long-term growth and diversification to safeguard a sustainable and prosperous future for our people. With similar customer-centric cultures, focused on safety and delivering incident-free, quality services and innovative technology, we will leverage H&Ps operational processes and practices to accelerate efficiencies and optimise operational excellence for our customers.”

President and CEO of H&P, John Lindsay, added: “This is a historic and transformative transaction for the company, and we are excited about what this means for H&P’s future, as it accelerates our international expansion particularly in the Middle East and enhances the company’s global leadership in onshore drilling solutions.

“KCA Deutag’s assets and operations will add resilient revenues, providing greater earnings visibility and cash flow generation. As a result, we expect to generate sizeable incremental cash flows and are confident this transaction will deliver near- and long-term growth and value creation for H&P shareholders.

He continued: “Acquiring KCA Deutag gives H&P immediate scale in core Middle East markets in a way that would be challenging to replicate organically. Furthermore, as there is very little geographic overlap, we view this transaction more than just acquiring assets, but rather acquiring operations with quality people.

“As a combined company, we will maintain our shared customer-centric approach and safety focus. We look forward to welcoming KCA Deutag’s talented employees to the H&P family and working together to provide exceptional performance and value to customers across our global markets, now on a much larger scale.”