Seadrill raises $154 mln to finance new rig

OSLO, July 11 (Reuters) - Norwegian oilfield services group Seadrill (SDRL.OL) has raised 889 million crowns ($153.5 million) in a private placement to help finance the construction of a new drill ship.

Seadrill said on Wednesday that it issued 7 million new shares at 127 crowns each, against Tuesday's closing price of 126.50 crowns. The company has more than 399 million shares outstanding after the issue.

"The share issue was significantly oversubscribed," Seadrill said in a statement. "The new equity is targeted at further investments in deepwater newbuilds."