Flex LNG moves to pump up liquidity by $100m with refinancing of seven ships
John Fredriksen’s Flex LNG has initiated a new phase of refinancing aiming to bolster its liquidity by some $100m.
The New York and Oslo-listed firm, which has a fleet of 13 LNG carriers, last November sealed an $855m refinancing of six vessels, which is expected to release around $137m with a final deal in the third quarter of this year.
The next phase will see the remaining seven ships refinanced, adding approximately $100m to the liquidity of $285m as of end-June.
Specifically, Flex plans to terminate the lease for the 2018-built Flex Enterprise, and the company is currently assessing alternatives to the $125m accordion facility under the $375m bank loan given the long-term charter attached to this vessel. The company is further looking into refinancing the 2020-built Flex Amber lease by the fourth quarter, while the amendment and extension of the existing loan and/or refinancing are being explored for the Flex Aurora, Flex Artemis, Flex Resolute, Flex Freedom and Flex Vigilant.
The Øystein Kalleklev-led company recently agreed to replace the existing variable time charters of Flex Enterprise and Flex Amber with new seven-year fixed hire time charters, commencing in the third quarter of 2022.
