Flex LNG closes sale and charter-back of tanker pair

Flex LNG, a company controlled by billionaire John Fredriksen and an emerging player in the LNG shipping business, closed and completion of the sale and charter-back transaction for an LNG carrier pair with Hyundai Glovis.

Under the transaction, the vessels Flex Endeavour and Flex Enterprise have been sold for a gross consideration of $420m, with a net consideration of $300m to  the company adjusted for a non-amortizing and non-interest bearing seller’s credit of $120m in total.

Both vessels will be chartered back on a time-charter basis to units of Flex LNG for a period of ten years, and the Company will have options to acquire the vessels during the term of the time-charters.

Flex Endeavour and Flex Enterprise were, together with Flex Ranger, financed under a $315m term loan facility due 2023, Flex LNG said.

In addition to the Glovis SCB, the company has also closed and refinanced the remaining tranche for Flex Ranger, and the total outstanding of $294 million under the $315 million facility has been prepaid in full. The Flex Ranger has been refinanced with a new $100 million bank loan divided into a $50 million term loan and a $50 million revolving facility.