SeaHawk Drilling (NASDAQ:HAWK) Plunges on Bankruptcy Filing

SeaHawk Drilling's (NASDAQ:HAWK) pain is Hercules Offshore Inc.'s ((NASDAQ:HERO) gain, as SeaHawk has filed for bankruptcy protection while Hercules will acquire Seahawk's fleet of offhore drilling rigs for $105 million.

SeaHawk is a victim of the Obama administration's over-response to the BP (NYSE:BP) oil spill, being devastated by the loss of business from the moratorium and eventual refusal to grant permits in the region for deepwater drilling.

Hercules Offshore said they're going to acquire the assets with 22.3 million shares of its stock, $25 million in cash to retire Seahawk debt and additional cash for working capital. The February 10 closing price of $3.62 a share for Hercules' stock brings the value of the deal to $105 million.

The deal will be part of the Chapter 11 bankruptcy SeaHawk filed for on Friday.

The bankruptcy court has been asked to expedite the deal, which should close sometime in the second quarter.

Seahawk was trading at $4.67, down $3.23, or 40.89 percent, as of 1:01 PM EST. Hero was trading at $4.30, up $0.68, or 18.78 percent.