Golar Maria LNG Carrier Sold for $215 Million

Image courtesy Wilhelmsen

By Debbie Cai

Golar LNG Ltd. (GLNG) has agreed to sell the company that owns and operates the liquefied natural gas carrier, the Golar Maria, together with its time-charter, to Golar LNG Partners LP (GMLP) for $215 million.

Golar LNG Ltd., which transports, liquefies and trades LNG, expects to reinvest a significant part of the net proceeds in its newbuilding program and other capital projects.

The Golar Maria was delivered to its current charterer, LNG Shipping SpA, a subsidiary of Eni SpA (E), last November under a charter with an initial term expiring in December 2017.

The partnership estimates that the acquisition will generate approximate annual revenues between $28 million and $29 million during the term of its charter with LNG Shipping.

On Wednesday, the partnership said it plans to offer 3.9 million common units representing limited partner interests and intends to use the net proceeds to fund part of the Golar Maria purchase. If the acquisition doesn’t come through, Golar Partners will use the proceeds for general partnership purposes.

Golar Partners operates a fleet of LNG carriers and floating storage regasification units on long-term contracts.

Shares of Golar LNG slipped 11 cents to $40.96 after hours. The stock is up 12% since the start of the year.

Shares of Golar Partners closed at $31.06 and were unchanged after hours. The stock is up 4% since the beginning of the year.

-Write to Debbie Cai at [email protected]

© 2013 Dow Jones Newswires

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