On July 27, Keppel Corporation announced that Apollo Global Management has finalised a $100 million capital commitment to a new fund wholly managed by Keppel. The fund is specifically established to hold up to 10 older offshore drilling rigs.

In the first tranche, the Keppel Offshore Fund will acquire six operating drilling rigs from Keppel's subsidiary Rigco Holding, with a transaction consideration of approximately SGD 1.2 billion (about USD 957 million).

The first tranche is expected to close within the year, after which Keppel will realise cash proceeds of roughly USD 478 million. All cash required for this acquisition will be provided by Apollo, while Keppel will contribute its assets in kind in exchange for a 50% stake in the fund.

It is noted that Keppel will continue to have full management authority over these offshore assets and will receive advisory service fees and ongoing asset management fees.

As of end-2025, Keppel's total assets under management stood at SGD 95 billion. Following the initial transfer of assets, Keppel's AUM will increase by approximately SGD 3.9 billion.

At the same time, the sale of the six rigs is expected to incur a book accounting loss of about SGD 92 million for Keppel in the first half of the year. Another four rigs, currently at various stages of construction, are planned to be transferred into the fund upon completion between 2027 and 2028. The sale of these assets is expected to generate an additional USD 988 million in cash proceeds for Keppel.

Rigco Holding holds a total of 13 drilling rigs; the remaining three are not included in this transaction.

At end-2024, Keppel fully acquired Rigco Holding and its entire existing drilling fleet, as a core move to accelerate the disposal of legacy assets from its former offshore business. At the same time, Keppel assumed SGD 843 million in special-purpose funds on Rigco's books, to be used for the final construction and monetisation of unfinished rigs.

These drilling rigs had been carved out and segregated prior to the merger of Keppel Offshore & Marine and Sembcorp Marine to form the new entity Seatrium.

Keppel has repeatedly stated that it has no intention of returning to the rig-building business, and its current core strategy is to monetise its legacy fleet and convert it into light-asset income streams that generate sustainable management fees. Apollo's investment remains subject to regulatory approvals in various jurisdictions and the satisfaction of customary closing conditions before it can be formally finalised.