CVC DIF is selling its 29% stake in liquefied natural gas carrier vessel operator France LNG Shipping (FLS) to KKR.
CVC DIF, which holds the FLS stake via its CIF I and CIF II funds, has agreed to sell to Ocean Yield, a ship-owning firm owned by the KKR‘s fourth global infrastructure fund for an unspecified amount.
The KKR Global Infrastructure Investors IV fund, which raised $17bn at its close in March 2022, mainly target investment opportunities in OECD countries in North America and Western Europe.
In November 2019, the CIF I fund completed 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 the French ship management company Gazocean and the addition of three more vessels
FLS was a 50:50 joint venture between Japanese shipping company Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha and French company Geogas LNG. Geogas LNG is jointly owned by CVC DIF, Access Capital Partners and French ship owner Geogas Maritime.
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.”
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