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

Eurazeo, through its Asset-based Finance strategy, is pleased to announce its 5th transaction for the Eurazeo Sustainable Maritime Infrastructure (ESMI) fund for an amount of €22.5 million. This investment consists in the financing of the first next-generation zero-emission short sea container vessel, being launched by the Samskip Group. Samskip will eventually produce 2 of such vessels that will serve as important steps towards reaching their sustainability targets and reinforce their goal of reaching Net-Zero by 2040.

The vessel, nicknamed “Samskip SeaShuttle”, is currently under construction at Cochin shipyard in India, and is expected to be delivered to Samskip in H2 2025. Once delivered, this vessel will be one of the world’s first and largest vessels to be propelled with a hydrogen propulsion system. The Samskip SeaShuttle will be fueled by green hydrogen in the ports of Oslo and Rotterdam, gradually integrated in the vessel’s energy mix from 2026 onwards to allow it to be totally carbon neutral from 2030. This will make it one of the world’s greenest vessels ever built, meeting all ESMI’s criteria and exceeding the fund’s targets in terms of GHG emission reduction objectives and credit risk profile as well.

Founded in 1990 in Iceland and headquartered in the Netherlands, Samskip is a logistics company offering transport and services by land, sea, rail and air. Being a European leader in transport and logistics services, the company puts a strong focus on efficient, reliable, and environmentally friendly transport.

Sylvain Makaya, Partner – Asset-based, and Guillaume Branco, Investment Director – Asset-based, declared:

“Being able to support an established player like Samskip, with a focus on European intra-trade and logistics activities, constitutes a landmark transaction for our ESMI fund. It is a great opportunity to be a part of such a sustainable vessel project that is expected to be carbon neutral by 2030, hence contributing to the industry’s target to be net zero GHG emissions by 2050. We would like to warmly thank Samskip along with our strategic partners on the ESMI fund: Elbe Financial Solutions who acted as financial & maritime advisor, our origination advisor NRP, Simonsen Vogt Wiig as our legal advisor, and our technical & ESG advisor Bureau Veritas Solutions Marine & Offshore. With this landmark transaction, we are reaching our objective to invest close to 50% of our first ESMI fund by 2023. We expect the ramp-up phase to continue during 2024 with the objective to prepare the second generation of this fund.”

Kari-Pekka Laaksonen, Group CEO Samskip, stated:

“The need to accelerate sustainability is paramount in today’s rapidly changing world. Waiting is simply not an option. At Samskip, we feel an ethical responsibility to pioneer for sustainable solutions. Building energy-efficient vessels that use significantly less energy is critical to our future, as there is not enough energy in the world to produce renewable fuel for everything we produce. Therefore, it is truly great that we receive the support of Eurazeo in financing the first Samskip SeaShuttle. We believe we will only be successful when we truly collaborate. The support of Eurazeo is a great example of the kind of collaboration that is needed to make an effective energy transition.

CapMan Special Situations press release 9 December at 12:00 a.m. EET

CapMan Special Situations invests in Marinetek

CapMan Special Situations fund becomes the majority owner of Marinetek Group and invests to develop Marinetek as a global leader in premium marinas and advanced floating solutions.

CapMan Special Situations fund has agreed on a comprehensive recapitalization of Marinetek Group. CapMan’s fund has acquired majority ownership in the company and will invest new capital into Marinetek to develop the business. As a part of the recapitalisation, the company’s senior loans were transferred to CapMan fund’s ownership.

Marinetek is a leading supplier of premium marinas with high quality concrete, aluminium and timber pontoon solutions for turnkey marinas, breakwaters and commercial floating solutions. Founded in Finland and with a global presence and a flexible supply chain and manufacturing in 9 countries, Marinetek has delivered more than 2,500 marina references in 55 countries worldwide.

“Marinetek is the preferred brand in premium marinas and floating solutions with an unparalleled global reach across Europe, Middle East, Asia and North America. This transaction enables complete restructuring of Marinetek’s balance sheet, and the company will receive necessary financing to strengthen its capabilities and drive future growth.” says Antti Uusitalo, Partner at CapMan Special Situations.

“Marinetek has come a long way since it was founded in 1994. This transaction provides a strong financing backbone for the company to embark on the next wave of expansion after few difficult years. I am confident that the transaction will enable Marinetek to succeed in its growth plans”, says Ilkka Seppälä, the founder of Marinetek Group.

“I am very pleased that the company’s financing rests now on a very solid foundation. With the order books of the boating and super yacht industry currently at an all-time-high, we expect the infrastructure spending on marina projects to stay elevated for years to come. With CapMan’s support, we are well equipped to grow the business to the next level”, says Mika Parviainen, Marinetek Group CEO.

CapMan Special Situations invests in event-driven opportunities across economic cycles and industry sectors. At the core of the investment area are demanding corporate restructurings and operational transformations. CapMan Special Situations is a responsible investor, and its mission is to contribute to societal wellbeing by ensuring that viable companies can successfully steer through demanding situations and once again thrive. CapMan Special Situations will actively contribute to Marinetek’s development together with its co-investors Karri Kaitue and Heikki Westerlund.

For additional information, please contact:
Antti Uusitalo, Partner, CapMan Special Situations, tel. +358 40 020 2663

Mika Parviainen, CEO, Marinetek Group, tel. +358 50 464 3867

About Marinetek

Marinetek is an internationally recognized brand name for premium marinas and advanced floating solutions. With industry’s widest pontoon product range and a network of over 300 marina experts around the world, Marinetek can fulfil a wide range of customer needs from a custom-made floating structure to a world-class marina.

Marinetek offers world famous concrete, hybrid aluminium and timber pontoons, breakwaters, floating solutions and marina equipment. Through collaborative partnerships, Marinetek provides its customers expertise and turnkey-services from concept design, engineering, manufacturing, and installation to modernization of marinas.

Operating in over 40 and manufacturing in 9 countries Marinetek has delivered more than 2500 marina references to 55 countries worldwide.

www.marinetek.net

About CapMan

CapMan is a leading Nordic private asset expert with an active approach to value creation. We offer a wide selection of investment products and services. As one of the Nordic private equity pioneers, we have developed hundreds of companies and real estate assets and created substantial value in these businesses and assets over the past 30 years. With more than €4 billion in assets under management, our objective is to provide attractive returns and innovative solutions to investors. We have a broad presence in the unlisted market through our local and specialised teams. Our investment strategies cover Private Equity, Real Estate and Infra. We also have a growing service business that includes procurement services, wealth management, and analysis, reporting and back office services. Altogether, CapMan employs around 150 people in Helsinki, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Oslo, London and Luxembourg. We are a public company listed on Nasdaq Helsinki since 2001 and a signatory of the UN Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) since 2012.