BW LPG Limited - Acquisition of 12 VLGCs from Avance Gas Successfully Completed With Delivery of Final Vessel BW Avior
31 December 2024 - 8:04PM
Business Wire
With reference to the stock exchange announcement on 15 August
2024 for the acquisition of 12 modern Very Large Gas Carriers
(VLGCs) from Avance Gas Holdings Ltd (“Avance Gas”, OSE ticker
code: “AGAS”), BW LPG Limited (“BW LPG” or the “Company”, OSE
ticker code: “BWLPG.OL”, NYSE ticker code “BWLP”) has taken
delivery of vessel BW Avior on 31 December 2024. All 12 VLGCs are
now delivered through a smooth and seamless handover process, and
the transaction has been successfully completed.
BW LPG has today issued 2,141,000 new BW LPG shares to Avance
Gas as part-consideration for the above vessel. Following the
issuance of the new shares, the total number of issued shares of BW
LPG is 159,282,000, representing a total share capital in the
amount of USD 619,867,048. The new shares have been legally and
validly issued and are fully paid.
Following the above issuance, Avance Gas holds 19.282 million
shares in BW LPG, representing approximately 12.11% shareholding.
Each tranche of the consideration shares has a 40 calendar-day
lockup period following the delivery of each vessel and its
issuance to Avance Gas.
The total consideration of the transaction was USD 1,050 million
and settled through a cash consideration of USD 585.4 million,
novation of USD132 million pertaining to two sale-leaseback
vessels, and the issuance of 19.282 million new BW LPG shares which
was priced at USD 17.25 per share, representing a value of USD
332.6 million. The liquidity upon completion of the transaction was
estimated to be USD 552 million as reported in Q3 earnings release.
14 vessels remain unencumbered and can be financed in 2025.
With the completion of the transaction, BW LPG owns and operates
a total of 53 VLGCs, of which 22 are LPG dual-fuel, solidifying BW
LPG’s position as the world’s largest owner and operator of VLGC,
and that for the dual-fuel powered VLGCs.
With the expanded fleet, BW LPG will maintain its balanced
chartering strategy, targeting a coverage of approximately 35-40%
of its fleet capacity using time charters and Freight Forward
Agreements.
The current spot market is trading in the USD mid 40,000s per
day and we maintain a positive market outlook for 2025, although
rate fluctuations are expected. Over the last six months the
normalized Panama Canal transit levels have reduced sailing
distances and put pressure on rates. Looking forward, we see the
market is supported by the strong underlying growth in LPG
production and exports from North America which are set to continue
from second half of the year and underpinned by export terminal
expansion projects.
Mr. Kristian Sørensen, CEO of BW LPG, commented, “I am very
pleased to announce the successful closing of the transaction and
the commencement of revenue generation from our additional 12
VLGCs. I thank the Avance Gas team for ensuring an efficient and
seamless handover process. We have issued 15% more shares to expand
our owned fleet by 40% and through our enlarged fleet we are
enhancing our commercial scale and operational leverage.”
About BW LPG
BW LPG is the world’s leading owner and operator of LPG vessels,
owning and operating Very Large Gas Carriers (VLGC) with a total
carrying capacity of over 3 million CBM. With five decades of
operating experience in LPG shipping, an in-house LPG trading
division and a growing presence in LPG terminal infrastructure and
distribution, BW LPG offers an integrated, flexible, and reliable
service to customers along the LPG value chain. More information
about BW LPG can be found at https://www.bwlpg.com.
BW LPG is associated with BW Group, a leading global maritime
company involved in shipping, floating infrastructure, deepwater
oil & gas production, and new sustainable technologies. Founded
in 1955 by Sir YK Pao, BW controls a fleet of over 450 vessels
transporting oil, gas and dry commodities, with its 200 LNG and LPG
ships constituting the largest gas fleet in the world. In the
renewables space, the group has investments in solar, wind,
batteries, biofuels and water treatment.
This information is subject to disclosure requirements pursuant
to Section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241231507899/en/
For further information, please contact:
Kristian Sørensen, CEO, BW LPG Samantha Xu, CFO, BW LPG E-mail:
investor.relations@bwlpg.com
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