SFL Corporation Ltd. (NYSE: SFL) (SFL) announced on Wednesday (Aug17) that it has agreed to acquire four modern Suezmax tankers in combination with long-term time charters to a subsidiary of Koch Industries, a world-leading industrial conglomerate.
The vessels are built in 2015 and 2020, respectively, and all four have modern eco-design features including exhaust gas cleaning systems. The aggregate purchase price of the vessels is $222.5 million and the Company expects to take delivery between August and October.
The charter period of the vessels will be six years, adding approximately $250 million to SFL’s fixed-rate backlog. The charterer will have a possibility to terminate the charters after three years against a termination fee and also an option to develop a sale of one or more of the vessels from year four of the charter period, including a profit share arrangement with SFL.
Ole B. Hjertaker, CEO of SFL Management AS, said in a comment: “We are pleased to further expand our presence in the tanker market at what we believe is an attractive point in the cycle with historic low orderbook in the segment. The transaction demonstrates our standing in the market as a high-quality provider of transportation services for industry-leading customers, and we continue building our fleet and charter backlog with accretive acquisitions.”