Orrick Paris Advises Geogas LNG on Acquisition of Stake in French LNG Company Alongside Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha

The Orrick Paris team advised Geogas LNG, a joint venture among DIF Core Infrastructure Fund I, Geogas Maritime and Acces Capital Partners, on the acquisition of a 50% stake in a French incorporated company that will own and operate five 174,000 m3 liquefied natural gas carriers currently under construction. The remaining 50% of the French company will be held by Japan’s Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK).

The five vessels will be built by leading South Korean shipyards and equipped with state-of-the-art LNG fueled propulsion technology, resulting in best-in-class environmental performance. The first ship is expected to become operational in April 2020. The vessels, which will fly the French flag, will be chartered to a large French and a large European utility under long-term contracts and will be project financed under a customary French lease structure.

Orrick's team included partners Patrick Tardivy and Amaury de Feydeau and associate Florent Lewkowicz.