SFL Corporation Ltd. (NYSE: SFL) (“SFL” or the “Company”) announced today 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.”
August 17, 2022
The Board of Directors
SFL Corporation Ltd.
Hamilton, Bermuda
Investor and Analyst Contacts:
Aksel Olesen, Chief Financial Officer, SFL Management AS
+47 23 11 40 36
André Reppen, Chief Treasurer & Senior Vice President, SFL Management AS
+47 23 11 40 55
Marius Furuly, Vice President - IR, SFL Management AS
+47 23 11 40 16
Media Contact:
Ole B. Hjertaker, Chief Executive Officer, SFL Management AS
+47 23 11 40 11
About SFL
SFL has a unique track record in the maritime industry and has paid dividends every quarter since its initial listing on the New York Stock Exchange in 2004. The Company’s fleet of vessels is comprised of container vessels, car carriers, tanker vessels, bulkers and offshore drilling rigs. SFL’s long term distribution capacity is supported by a portfolio of long term charters and significant growth in the asset base over time. More information can be found on the Company's website: www.sflcorp.com
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward Looking Statements
This press release may contain forward looking statements. These statements are based upon various assumptions, many of which are based, in turn, upon further assumptions, including SFL management’s examination of historical operating trends, data contained in the Company’s records and other data available from third parties. Although SFL believes that these assumptions were reasonable when made, because assumptions are inherently subject to significant uncertainties and contingencies which are difficult or impossible to predict and are beyond its control, SFL cannot give assurance that it will achieve or accomplish these expectations, beliefs or intentions.
Important factors that, in the Company’s view, could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward looking statements include the strength of world economies, fluctuations in currencies and interest rates, general market conditions in the seaborne transportation industry, which is cyclical and volatile, including fluctuations in charter hire rates and vessel values, changes in demand in the markets in which the Company operates, including shifts in consumer demand from oil towards other energy sources or changes to trade patterns for refined oil products, changes in market demand in countries which import commodities and finished goods and changes in the amount and location of the production of those commodities and finished goods, technological innovation in the sectors in which we operate and quality and efficiency requirements from customers, increased inspection procedures and more restrictive import and export controls, changes in the Company’s operating expenses, including bunker prices, dry-docking and insurance costs, performance of the Company’s charterers and other counterparties with whom the Company deals, the impact of any restructuring of the counterparties with whom the Company deals, including the bankruptcy proceedings relating to Seadrill and certain of its subsidiaries and timely delivery of vessels under construction within the contracted price, governmental laws and regulations, including environmental regulations, that add to our costs or the costs of our customers, potential liability from pending or future litigation, potential disruption of shipping routes due to accidents, political instability, terrorist attacks, piracy or international hostilities, the length and severity of the ongoing coronavirus outbreak and governmental responses thereto and the impact on the demand for commercial seaborne transportation and the condition of the financial markets, and other important factors described from time to time in the reports filed by the Company with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. SFL disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.
