Evangelos Marinakis-controlled Capital Product Partners has won shareholder approval to change its corporate structure from a limited partnership to a corporation and to change its name to Capital Clean Energy Carriers Corp.
The company, also known as CPLP, was contemplating the two moves last year when it announced its transformation into a pure-play gas carrier, investing almost $4bn on more than 20 LNG, CO2 and other gas carrier newbuildings.
“The conversion and the name change are key milestones in our strategic pivot towards the transportation of various forms of natural gas to industrial customers, including liquefied natural gas … and new commodities emerging as a result of the energy transition, as initially announced in November 2023,” the company said in a press release on Friday.
Capital Product has a fleet of 12 LNG carriers and eight container ships on the water.
It has already agreed to increase this fleet to 18 LNG carriers and 10 LPG or CO2 carriers from Marinakis on long-term charters that are due for delivery through to 2027.
As part of the conversion into a corporation, Marinakis-controlled Capital Maritime “will give up its existing management and consent rights with respect to CPLP, including its right to appoint three directors to our board and its veto rights over, among other things, approval of mergers, consolidations and other significant corporate transactions and amendments to CPLP’s governing documents”.
As long as Capital Maritime and its affiliates own at least 25% of outstanding common shares in the company, Marinakis will have the right to nominate three out of the eight directors to the board.
The shorthand for Capital Clean Energy will be CCEC.
Capital Product has already announced it is keeping its dividend steady for the 11th consecutive quarter at $0.15 per unit.
The company intends to maintain this fixed dividend policy of $0.15 per share in the future, before considering adopting a flexible dividend policy at some point in the future, chief executive Jerry Kalogiratos said.
The Marinakis family is the largest shareholder of the company, owning about 54%.
This share will rise to 59% as general partner units and incentive distribution rights are converted into common shares.
The second-biggest stakeholder with almost 26% is Yoda PLC — an investment fund owned by Greek real estate businessman Ioannis Papalekas.
The company’s shares closed trading at $16.38 on Thursday, giving it a market value of $902m. Its net fleet value was $3.68bn as of the end of June.
