Norwegian shipowner Ocean Yield and vehicles managed by KKR are slated to acquire energy infrastructure company CapeOmega Gas Transportation from Partners Group, a global private markets investment manager.
Ocean Yield expects the transaction to add approximately $120 million to its adjusted EBITDA backlog once it closes in the second half of 2025. Additional equity injection into Ocean Yield is planned by KKR to help maintain a robust balance sheet with growth opportunities.
Andreas Røde , Ocean Yield’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), commented: “We are pleased to co-invest with KKR in this transaction, which provides attractive exposure to modern LNG carriers, all employed on long-term charters to investment grade-rated counterparties.”
Partners Group said the transaction represents a successful exit after executing a full strategic pivot for CapeOmega since it was acquired from HitecVision in 2019 for approximately $1.35 billion.
CapeOmega co-owns ten LNG carriers operated by Knutsen LNG . Seven of these are currently on the water with an average age of two years, and three vessels are to be delivered from the shipyard in 2025 and 2026.
According to Ocean Yield, all vessels are employed on long-term charters to the tier-one investment grade-rated energy companies, Shell, Engie, and QatarEnergy, with an average contract duration of 9 years, or 16 years including extension options.
Evy Glørstad , Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at CapeOmega, commented: “In the last few years, we have evolved from the largest private infrastructure owner on the Norwegian Continental Shelf into a leading global provider of state-of-the-art, fuel-efficient LNG transport. I would like to thank our team, Partners Group, and our co-shareholder, Knutsen, for their collaboration and partnership in building this platform.”
The company held interests in the Norwegian gas transport system (Gassled, Polarled, and Nyhamna JVs, as well as the Dunkerque and Zeepipe terminals) until last year, when these were purchased by the Norwegian Energy Ministry .
This formed part of the Norwegian State’s plan to acquire all privately owned participating interests of the natural gas pipeline and terminal networks on the Norwegian Continental Shelf.
The latest transaction comes on the heels of Ocean Yield’s decision to purchase the share that the Luxembourg-based Access Capital Partners holds in France’s Geogas LNG. The transaction increased its indirect interest in France LNG Shipping (FLS), which is a 50:50 joint venture between NYK Line and Geogas, to 45%.