By Mikael Holter

(Bloomberg) — Seadrill Ltd., the offshore driller scuffling with the trade’s largest debt load, surged by a file for a second straight day as buyers coated quick bets amid hypothesis of a lifeline from the corporate’s largest shareholder, billionaire John Fredriksen.

Shares of the corporate rose as a lot as 68 %, essentially the most on file, and traded 44 % larger at 42.15 kroner at 1:51 p.m. in Oslo. Almost 16 million shares have been traded, greater than twice the each day common over the previous three months. The transfer follows a 39 % rise within the Norwegian capital on Friday and a 121 % acquire in New York buying and selling.

“People have been shorting our shares, obviously,” Per Wullf, Seadrill’s chief government officer, mentioned in a cellphone interview. “There are no changes” to the restructuring plan that the corporate goals to finish by the top of June and talks with banks have been good, he mentioned.

Contracts betting on a decline in Seadrill inventory fell to about 14 % of the tradeable shares as of Thursday, down from as excessive as 22 % in November, in line with the most recent knowledge accessible from Markit and Bloomberg.

The surge in share costs, which brings beneficial properties to 200 % over the previous eight classes, comes after Fredriksen, who’s the chairman and owns 24 % of Seadrill, freed $510 million in money by promoting a 3rd of his stake in salmon farmer Marine Harvest ASA. That has fueled hypothesis he may very well be getting ready to take a position extra within the drilling firm, which has virtually $11 billion of debt. The funding plan is more likely to contain the difficulty of at the very least $1 billion in new fairness, in line with analysts together with Janne Kvernland of Nordea Bank AB, who has mentioned Fredriksen’s participation within the restructuring will likely be key.

‘Guesswork’

“There’s been all this about John Fredriksen and what he’s been doing, but it’s guesswork,” Wullf mentioned. “What I can say is that we presented the refinancing plan to John and the board three weeks ago, and he nodded and said ‘get after it guys’. And that’s where we are.”

Kvernland mentioned the inventory’s transfer was attributable to buyers masking quick bets, echoing different analysts similar to Lukas Daul of ABG Sundal Collier Holding ASA.

“The profit taking in Marine Harvest and the speculation on where he might put the money is probably part of this too,” Kvernland mentioned. “I still think he intends to support the restructuring.”

Another issue doubtlessly explaining Seadrill’s surge is the 20 % enhance within the value of Brent crude for the reason that begin of February, mentioned each Wullf and Kvernland. An announcement by rival Noble Corp. of a money supply for elements of its bond debt could have contributed, Kvernland mentioned.

“That was one of the first positive news items for the equity story in a long, long time,” she mentioned. “More rig companies will probably do the same thing.”

© 2016 Bloomberg L.P