Cool Company Limited (CoolCo), the NYSE and Euronext Growth Oslo-listed company, and Huaxia Financial Leasing, the leasing arm of Chinese based Hua Xia Bank Co, have announced that they signed sale and leaseback financing arrangements (Sale and Leasebacks) for the “Kool Tiger” and “Kool Panther” newbuild MEGA LNG carriers.
As reported by Shipping Telegraph on 29th June, the MEGA LNG carriers are scheduled to be delivered to CoolCo during the second half of 2024, from shipbuilder Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries, in South Korea.
The company notifies that the Sale and Leasebacks are on a fixed rate per day basis for 10 years, with an implied interest rate just under 6% and a minimum loan-to-value of 80%, with potential for additional capacity contingent upon the terms of the charter employment that CoolCo anticipates securing in advance of the vessels’ deliveries.
After the agreement with Huaxia Financial Leasing, and the Sale and Leasebacks are in place, CoolCo states that it has fully financed the two MEGA LNG Carrier newbuilds.
John Boots, CFO of CoolCo, said: “We are pleased to have established this important relationship with Huaxia Financial Leasing and look forward to working closely with them over the long term. Having completed the financing of these two state-of-the-art, 2-stroke MEGA LNG Carrier newbuilds, this materially strengthens CoolCo’s future cashflow potential and strategic capabilities in a non-dilutive manner that clearly benefits our shareholders.”
“The combination of our robust financial position and a substantial backlog in charters provides us with considerable flexibility, both commercially and financially, enabling us to further grow the Company. We believe that the near- and long-term opportunities in the LNG transportation market are substantial, supported by an increased emphasis on energy security and the dramatic expansion of global LNG production currently underway. Our pure-play fleet of modern LNG carriers positions CoolCo and our shareholders to be long-term beneficiaries of these durable trends,” John Boots adds.
