defa14a
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
SCHEDULE 14A
Proxy Statement Pursuant to Section 14(a) of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934 (Amendment No. )
Filed by the Registrant þ
Filed by a Party other than the Registrant o
Check the appropriate box:
o |
|
Preliminary Proxy Statement |
o |
|
Confidential, for Use of the Commission Only (as permitted by Rule 14a-6(e)(2)) |
o |
|
Definitive Proxy Statement |
þ |
|
Definitive Additional Materials |
o |
|
Soliciting Material Pursuant to §240.14a-12 |
Hercules Offshore, Inc.
(Name of Registrant as Specified In Its Charter)
(Name of Person(s) Filing Proxy Statement, if other than the Registrant)
Payment of Filing Fee (Check the appropriate box):
þ |
|
No fee required. |
o |
|
Fee computed on table below per Exchange Act Rules 14a-6(i)(1) and 0-11. |
|
(1) |
|
Title of each class of securities to which transaction applies: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(2) |
|
Aggregate number of securities to which transaction applies: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(3) |
|
Per unit price or other underlying value of transaction computed pursuant to Exchange Act
Rule 0-11 (set forth the amount on which the filing fee is calculated and state how it was
determined): |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(4) |
|
Proposed maximum aggregate value of transaction: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(5) |
|
Total fee paid: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
o |
|
Fee paid previously with preliminary materials. |
|
o |
|
Check box if any part of the fee is offset as provided by Exchange Act Rule 0-11(a)(2)
and identify the filing for which the offsetting fee was paid previously. Identify the
previous filing by registration statement number, or the Form or Schedule and the date of its
filing. |
|
(1) |
|
Amount Previously Paid: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(2) |
|
Form, Schedule or Registration Statement No.: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(3) |
|
Filing Party: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(4) |
|
Date Filed: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
HERCULES OFFSHORE, INC.
9 Greenway Plaza, Suite 2200
Houston, Texas 77046
Supplement To Proxy Statement for 2011 Annual Meeting Of Stockholders
To Be Held on May 10, 2011
Talking Points for Investor Discussions
April 28, 2011
Hercules Offshore and its Board of Directors have undertaken initiatives to increase long-term
shareholder value and overcome economic and regulatory challenges in offshore drilling.
|
|
|
Increase in stock price: Trading price of common stock has increased more than 400%
since March 2009. |
|
|
|
|
Challenges related to historic downturn in industry: Our business has faced a
historically challenging environment since late 2008. |
|
|
|
Historically low rig count. 2009 marked the lowest working rig count in
the Gulf of Mexico since the beginning of the offshore drilling industry more than 50
years ago. |
|
|
|
|
Unprecedented moratorium. Unprecedented halt to the issuance of
government permits needed to conduct our drilling business in the U.S. Gulf of
Mexico. |
|
|
|
Initiatives to enhance long-term shareholder value: Hercules Offshore and its Board of
Directors have undertaken successful, proactive and creative initiatives to protect and
enhance long-term shareholder value even in the face of a challenging business environment. |
|
|
|
Recalibrated Cost Structure: Reduced operating expenses by over 40%
during the downturn between third quarter 2008 and fourth quarter 2010. This
reduction was largely realized by the second quarter of 2009 and reduced general
and administrative expenses by approximately 30% during the period. |
|
|
|
|
Substantial Debt Reduction: Retired approximately $300 million of debt
with limited dilution of shareholders and amended the companys credit facility
to increase flexibility under the financial covenants. |
|
|
|
|
Seahawk Drilling: Nearly doubled the size and increased the capability
of Hercules Offshores domestic rig fleet through the purchase of 20 rigs out of
bankruptcy during the industry downturn. |
|
|
|
|
Shallow Water Energy Security Coalition: In response to the drilling
moratorium in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico and related negative regulatory environment
after the Macondo incident, we formed a coalition of drilling companies and
customers to enhance awareness of shallow water |
2
|
|
|
drilling. Through the coalition, we succeeded in having the shallow water permit
moratorium rescinded 5 months earlier than the deepwater moratorium. |
|
|
|
|
Discovery Offshore investment: We identified opportunities to
participate in the new build, ultra high-specification jackup rig
market at an attractive
cost during the industry downturn. |
|
|
|
Innovative structure. Innovative structure provides
ownership opportunities to Hercules Offshore with very low risk and
minimal impact on liquidity. |
|
|
|
|
Ultra high specification rigs. The Discovery investment provides an
opportunity to participate in the lucrative ultra high-specification jackup
business with potential inherent growth opportunities through the
negotiation of options for additional rigs. |
A significant proportion of our executive compensation is performance based.
|
|
|
Performance-based compensation. We enhanced our performance-based compensation program
in 2011 to strengthen the link between executive pay and company performance. |
Our Board is independent, and we have an independent Chairman of the Board.
|
|
|
Independent directors. All of our directors and nominees for director, except Mr. Rynd,
our Chief Executive Officer and President, satisfy the independence standards of the Nasdaq
Global Select Market. |
|
|
|
|
Chairman of the Board. Since we became a public company, we have enhanced the
independence of our Board of Directors by separating the role of our Chairman of the Board,
who is an independent director under Nasdaq standards, from the role of our Chief Executive
Officer and President. |
3