The strategic partnership and investment provided by CVC DIF funds has led to substantial expansion in FLS’ fleet of Liquefied Natural Gas ships
CVC DIF is pleased to announce that it has agreed to sell a 29% economic interest in France LNG Shipping (FLS), which operates state-of-the-art Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) carrier vessels under long-term charters to tier-one European energy companies.
CVC DIF’s stake in FLS, held through its CIF I and CIF II funds, will be acquired by Ocean Yield AS, a ship-owning company with investments in vessels on long-term charters. Ocean Yield AS is wholly owned by KKR Global Infrastructure Investors IV, a fund managed by KKR.
Over the past five years, CVC DIF and FLS’s management team have partnered with some of the most well-known players in the maritime industry to establish a leading, integrated French LNG ship owning platform. During this period, LNG has proven to be essential to global energy security.
Willem Jansonius, Partner and Head of CIF Investments at CVC DIF, said: “This transaction is a perfect example of CVC DIF’s value-add strategy as FLS is a bigger and better business now than it was in 2019.”
“A key CVC DIF objective is to support growing infrastructure businesses on the back of strong positive sectorial trends and realise attractive returns for our investors. We are proud of the development of the FLS platform and pleased to see a new partner coming in to support its future growth.”
FLS is a 50:50 joint-venture between Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK), a leading Japanese shipping company, and French company Geogas LNG. Geogas LNG is jointly owned by CVC DIF, Access Capital Partners and Geogas Maritime, a leading French ship-owner that has been active in the market for the past 45 years.
In November 2019, the CIF I fund closed an investment to finance an initial batch of five newbuild LNG vessels through FLS. In 2021 and 2022, the CIF II fund also invested in FLS to finance the acquisition of Gazocean, a French ship management company which has operated LNG vessels for more than 60 years, and the addition of three more vessels.
Closing of the transaction is subject to conditions and is expected to take place in the second half of 2024.
CVC DIF was advised on the transaction by Rothschild & Co (financial), Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe (legal, corporate), Watson Farley & Williams (legal, project), FTI Consulting (commercial), DNV (technical & environmental), KPMG (tax), 8Advisory (accounting) and Marsh (insurance).
About CVC DIF
CVC DIF (formerly DIF Capital Partners) is a leading global mid-market infrastructure equity fund manager.
Founded in 2005 and headquartered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, CVC DIF has c. €18 billion of infrastructure assets under management in energy transition, transport, utilities and digitalisation.
With over 240 people in 12 offices, CVC DIF offers a unique market approach, combining a global presence with the benefits of strong local networks and sector-focused investment capabilities.
CVC DIF forms the infrastructure strategy of leading global private markets manager CVC. This partnership allows CVC DIF to benefit from CVC’s global platform, with 29 offices across five continents.
For more information, please visit www.dif.eu or follow us on LinkedIn.
Press contact:
DIF Capital Partners: press@dif.eu
