The infrastructure fund manager DIF Capital Partners has signed final documentation alongside ship-owner Geogas Maritime and Access Capital Partners for the acquisition of a 50% stake in a French incorporated company that will own and operate a fleet of five to-be-built LNG carriers.
The remaining 50% will be held by Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK), a leading Japanese shipping and logistics company.
The five 174,000 cbm vessels will be built by leading South Korean shipyards and equipped with state-of-the-art LNG fuelled propulsion technology, resulting in best-in-class environmental performance.
The first ship is expected to become operational in April 2020. All five ships will fly the French flag.
The vessels will be chartered to a large French and a large European utility under long-term contracts and will be project financed under a customary French lease structure.
Thomas Vieillescazes, Head of France, said: “This is an excellent opportunity for DIF CIF I to invest in high quality assets and grow DIF’s footprint into the expanding LNG sector alongside strong and experienced counterparties. We’re also very proud to participate in a strategic project for the further development of the French LNG sector”.