SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 8-K
CURRENT REPORT
Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
Date of Report: December 17, 1997
READING & BATES CORPORATION
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Delaware 1-5587 73-0642271
(State or other (Commission (I.R.S. Employer
jurisdiction of File Number) Identification No.)
incorporation)
901 Threadneedle, Suite 200, Houston, TX 77079
(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)
Registrant's telephone number, including area code (281) 496-5000
Item 7. Financial Statements and Exhibits
(c) Exhibits
Exhibit 99 - Press Release dated December 16, 1997 - Reading & Bates
and Falcon Drilling announce Board of Directors for
R&B Falcon Corporation.
SIGNATURE
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the
registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf of the
undersigned thereunto duly authorized.
READING & BATES CORPORATION
By /s/T. W. Nagle
------------------------
T. W. Nagle
Executive Vice President,
Finance and Administration
(Principal Financial and
Accounting Officer)
Dated: December 17, 1997
EXHIBIT 99
NEWS RELEASE FROM.
Reading & Bates Corporation Falcon Drilling Company, Inc.
901 Threadneedle, Suite 200 1900 West Loop South, Suite 1800
Houston, Texas 77079 Houston, Texas 77027
Telephone: 281/496-5000 Telephone: 713/623-8984
________________________________________________________________________
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contacts:
Charles R. Ofner Robert F. Fulton
Reading & Bates Corporation Falcon Drilling Company
(281) 496-5000 (713) 623-8984
Falcon Drilling and Reading & Bates
Announce Board of Directors for R&B Falcon Corporation
Houston, Texas, December 16, 1997- Reading & Bates Corporation (NYSE:
RB) and Falcon Drilling Company, Inc. (NYSE: FLC) announced today that
the directors of R&B Falcon Corporation would be Arnold L. Chavkin,
Paul B. Loyd, Jr., Macko A.E. Laqueur, Charles A. Donabedian, and
Robert L. Sandmeyer, who are currently Directors of Reading & Bates,
and Purnendu Chatterjee, Douglas A.P. Hamilton, Michael E. Porter,
Steven A. Webster, and William R. Ziegler, who are currently Directors
of Falcon. Messrs. Loyd and Webster are currently the directors of
R&B Falcon Corporation. The other directors will take office
immediately prior to the mergers which will result in Reading & Bates
and Falcon becoming wholly owned subsidiaries of R&B Falcon
Corporation. The shareholder meetings of Reading & Bates and Falcon
to vote on the proposed combination will be held on December 23, 1997,
and is expected that the combination will be made effective after the
close of business on December 31, 1997.
The following is additional information about each of the persons who
will serve as a director of R&B Falcon Corporation:
Dr. Purnendu Chatterjee has been a director of Falcon since 1993. Dr.
Chatterjee is a private investor. A corporation controlled by Dr.
Chatterjee is the general partner of a limited partnership that
constitutes Falcon's largest stockholder.
Arnold L. Chavkin has been a director of Reading & Bates since August
1991. Mr. Chavkin is general partner of Chase Capital Partners, a
general partnership which invests in leveraged buyouts,
recapitalizations, growth equities and venture situations.
Charles A. Donabedian has been a director of Reading & Bates since
1989. Mr. Donabedian is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of
Winston Financial Incorporated (formerly Winston Midwest Marketing,
Inc.), which provides product development, marketing and sales
consulting and services to the financial service industry.
Douglas A.P. Hamilton has been a director of Falcon since 1992. He is
a private investor, and is one of Falcon's original investors.
Macko A.E. Laqueur has been a director of Reading & Bates since April
1995. Mr. Laqueur is a senior partner and one of the two founders of
Venture Capital Investors, a private investment company located in
Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Paul B. Loyd, Jr. has been Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of
Reading & Bates since June 1991.
Dr. Michael E. Porter has been a director of Falcon since January
1997. Dr. Porter is the C. Roland Christensen Professor of Business
Administration at the Harvard Business School.
Robert L. Sandmeyer has been a director of Reading & Bates since
September 1988. Dr. Sandmeyer served as Dean of the College of
Business Administration at Oklahoma State University and Professor of
Economics until his retirement in 1994.
Steven A. Webster has been the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of
Falcon since its organization in 1991.
William R. Ziegler has been a director of Falcon since 1991. Mr.
Ziegler is a partner of the law firm of Parson & Brown.
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