Swedish shipowner Stena is floating its LNG shipping business for sale in a tight newbuilding market where prices are at record levels and mid to long-term vessel demand is bullish.
A teaser sales document provided to TradeWinds in answer to questions details that Stena has recently received “unsolicited expressions of interest” from parties interested in acquiring the company’s LNG carriers and technology business.
As a result of the approach, Stena has decided to look at the alternatives for selling all or part of the business.
This consists of three ice-class and winterised LNG carriers — two tri-fuel diesel-electric (TFDE) vessels and one steam turbine ship — all of which are fixed on time charter.
Stena is also assessing market interest in its LNG technology business unit, which has developed a range of offshore solutions for transferring, storing, processing and regasifying LNG and other fuels.
The sales process is being handled jointly by Affinity LNG and Fearnley LNG under the name “Project Blue Sky” — a nod to the name of one of the ships.
Under this, selected parties in the industry assess their interest in the business.
LNG industry players outside this process said the mix of assets makes it more complex to put a value on business. But one indicated it could be close to $500m.
On offer are Stena’s two TFDE vessels — the 173,400-cbm Stena Clear Sky and Stena Crystal Sky (both built 2011).
The Stena Clear Sky is fixed to French energy major TotalEnergies on a charter that runs to 2027. Sistership Stena Crystal Sky is chartered out to China’s ENN until 2032.
The 145,000-cbm steamship Stena Blue Sky (built 2006) is on charter to US LNG producer Cheniere Energy until the second quarter of next year.
The sales document puts the combined remaining and contracted Ebitda backlog on the three vessels at around $260m as of the third quarter of this year.
Stena Power & LNG Solutions — Stena’s technology unit, which sits under the company’s marine service business arm Northern Marine Group, operating out of Grimstad, Norway — is also up for grabs.
This has initially been focused on a range of offshore jettyless designs for LNG and gas-to-power but has recently been expanding its reach to cover other alternative fuels such as ammonia and hydrogen.
A virtual data room is being opened to parties considering the assets and expressions of interest are being invited until mid-August.
Candidates would then be shortlisted with the aim of finalising the process by the end of September.
There have been increasing calls for consolidation in the LNG shipping industry over the years, with attention focused on those owners who control a single-digit number of vessels.
But the soaring LNG newbuilding costs, which have hit the $260m mark, and lack of available berth space combined with strong medium-term vessel demand have brought the focus back to secondhand opportunities.
Stena originally broke into the LNG sector in 2011 buying the LNG carrier trio from Taiwanese shipowner Nobu Su’s Today Makes Tomorrow for $700m.
At the time, the company broke down the pricing as $260m each on the TFDE vessels, which at the time were being sold as undelivered resales, and $180m on the then-trading steamship.
The company then moved quickly to secure LNG newbuilding slots at two South Korean yards but did not proceed with these or expand its fleet further.
