LNG

Luxembourg private equity group CVC Capital Partners has struck a deal to take over the Netherlands-based infrastructure group DIF Capital Partners with its investments in LNG carrier newbuilds.

CVC, a leading global markets asset management firm focused on private equity, is acquiring a majority stake in leading infrastructure manager, DIF Capital Partners and providing a commitment to acquire the remaining shares over time.

This combination creates a global private markets manager based in the European Union with around €177 billion ($190.2Bln) of total assets under management.

DIF is headquartered in Amsterdam with €16Bln of assets under management, a team of over 225 professionals across 11 offices and operating two different investment strategies.

Founded

The Dutch firm was founded in 2005 and has built a leading position in mid-market infrastructure investments, primarily in Europe, North America and Australia.

DIF has a 31 percent stake in five LNG carrier with capacities of 174,000 cubic metres.

The vessels are on long-term contracts and fly the French flag.

A statement said that the tie-up with CVC would help accelerate growth as DIF continues to deepen and widen its investment capabilities and geographic reach.

DIF will continue to be led by its current Chief Executive and Partners and it would operate under the DIF brand.

“Expanding into infrastructure is a logical next step for us, given the long-term secular growth trends in infrastructure and its adjacency to our existing strategies,” said CVC Chairman and Co-Founder Rolly van Rappard.

Growth

“We have known the DIF team for several years, and we are delighted to partner with one of the top pure-play global infrastructure managers, with an impressive track record of performance and growth,” Van Rappard added.

Wim Blaasse, CEO and Managing Partner at DIF said he was pleased with the CVC tie-up.

“This transaction enables us to benefit from CVC’s global platform, scale and investor relationships, and to double down on important infrastructure sectors like Energy Transition and Digitalisation while retaining independence over our investment decisions,” stated Blaasse

The transaction is subject to regulatory and other consents and is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2023 or the first quarter of 2024.

The Dutch works council of DIF has been informed and positively advised on the transaction.

Advisers to CVC in this transaction included JPMorgan. DIF’s advisers included, among others, Morgan Stanley & Co. Plc, Loyens & Loeff, PwC and De Brauw.

The Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF), based in Qatar and known as the OPEC of natural gas, and the the International Gas Union were among the participants in a wide-ranging online discussion held by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) on future LNG and pipeline gas use.

The Web gathering was entitled “99 minutes of LNG - trends, developments and innovative” and examined the need for a more vibrant natural gas industry due to the long-term benefits it brings and its key role in the energy transition.

The session was organised by the UNECE’s Group of Experts on Gas and featured speakers from the GECF and the IGU in addition to several UN member states and for leading gas companies from 10 nations, including Germany, Indonesia, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Norway, Russia and the US.

The GECF was represented by Hussein Moghaddam, Senior Energy Forecast Analyst at the Secretariat in the Qatari capital, Doha.

Moghaddam presented the latest data on Covid-19's impact on LNG markets and outlined the long-term prospects for the fuel.

The GECF has 12 members: Algeria, Bolivia, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Iran, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Russia, Trinidad and Tobago, the United Arab Emirates and Venezuela.

The seven observer-status countries are Angola, Azerbaijan, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Norway, Oman and Peru.

The current Secretary-General of the GECF is Yury Sentyurin from Russia.

During the UNECE’s event Moghaddam spoke in relation to one of the key messages which was that despite the current market environment due to COVID-19 and the oil price slump, the LNG industry was better placed than ever because of its massive contribution to decarbonising the world.

“While coal is still considered a critical source for energy security and affordability, particularly in Asia, coal development plans are being revised downward compared to previous years amidst low electricity demand and rising availability of alternative sources,” said Moghaddam .

“There is, therefore, a real opportunity for coal-to-gas switching,” he added.

“Further, gas and LNG can benefit from the climate policies being pushed out now due to their competitiveness and alignment with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),” stated Moghaddam.

The GECF is a regular contributor to the discussions of the UNECE Group of Experts on Gas and took part in the UN body's summit in Geneva in 2019.

The GECF’s “Global Gas Outlook 2050” published earlier in 2020 said that gas production in GECF countries, including Qatar, would grow by almost 50 percent through 2050 to more than 2.5 trillion cubic metres, underlining the continued importance of the group.

The sixth GECF summit of heads of states is scheduled to take place in Doha in 2021.