Flex LNG Expands Fleet, Issues Shares

Flex LNG is to buy five new LNG tankers and has issued $300mn of new shares to part-fund their purchase.

The UK-headquartered shipowner said October 10 that it will pay $918mn to Gerevan, the company controlled by Norwegian shipping magnate John Fredriksen, which is Flex LNG’s largest shareholder, for the five LNG carriers currently under construction by South Korean shipbuilders.

The $918mn covers three ships being built by Daewoo’s DSME and two by Hyundai’s HHI, for $180mn each, with an extra $6mn for each of the three DSME ships for their onboard reliquefaction systems. Bermuda-registered Flex LNG also said October 11 that it had completed a private placement of new Flex shares to the value of $300mn, of which one-third ($100mn) were allocated to Gerevan.

The new ships are expected to increase its LNG carrier fleet size from eight to 13.

Gerevan, which will now retain a 44.6% shareholding in Flex LNG following the private share placement, is indirectly controlled by trusts established by Fredriksen for the benefit of his family. One report said that represents a smaller stake in Flex than was previously held by the Fredriksen firm.