Apollo Plans to Sell All or Part of Energos Stake, Valuation May Exceed $3 Billion

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On September 17, Apollo Global Management is evaluating strategic options for its floating liquefied natural gas infrastructure operator Energos Infrastructure, including the sale of all or part of its equity stake. People familiar with the matter said the potential transaction could value Energos at more than $3 billion, and Apollo has already approached potential buyers. XRG, the international investment platform under Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, is exploring the possibility of acquiring up to 50% of Energos. Apollo, Energos and XRG have all declined to publicly confirm the potential transaction.

Energos is currently held by funds managed by Apollo and operates 13 LNG infrastructure vessels, including 9 floating storage and regasification units (FSRUs), 2 floating storage units (FSUs) and 2 LNG carriers. Its vessels serve markets including Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Mexico, the Netherlands and Puerto Rico, with core operations covering LNG receiving, storage and regasification.

Energos was established in 2022 by funds managed by Apollo and New Fortress Energy. The initial transaction between the two parties involved 11 LNG infrastructure vessels with a total value of approximately $2 billion, including 6 FSRUs, 3 FSUs and 2 LNG carriers. Following the completion of the transaction, funds managed by Apollo held approximately 80% and New Fortress Energy held approximately 20%, while New Fortress Energy signed long-term time charter arrangements of up to 20 years for 10 of the vessels.

In February 2024, New Fortress Energy sold the vast majority of its approximately 20% stake in Energos. Since then, Energos has been essentially held by funds managed by Apollo. New Fortress Energy subsequently confirmed in filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that it had disposed of the vast majority of its stake in Energos.

Energos' fleet continues to be deployed. On September 15 of this year, its FSRU "Energos Force" arrived at the port of Stade, Germany, preparing to participate in the commissioning of the local LNG receiving terminal. The vessel is scheduled to receive LNG and, after regasification, feed gas into the German natural gas pipeline network. The first fully loaded LNG carrier is scheduled to arrive in early November; the Stade facility is expected to have the capacity to deliver up to 3.2 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year into the German pipeline network by 2027.

If Apollo proceeds with the transaction, the options currently under discussion still include both a full sale and a partial sale, and no signed sale agreement has yet been reached. XRG is listed as one of the potential bidders, and the stake it is evaluating is up to approximately 50%. The final transaction structure, valuation and buyer remain undetermined.