Crown LNG Holdings AS, a supplier of LNG liquefaction and regasification terminal applied sciences for harsh climate places, has agreed to merge with Catcha Investment Corp, a publicly traded particular objective acquisition firm, that will lead to Crown changing into a U.S. publicly listed firm.
The mixed firm, named Crown LNG Holdings Limited (“PubCo”), intends to use to checklist its shares on the New York Stock Exchange beneath the brand new ticker image “CGBS”.
Crown designs and plans to personal and function offshore LNG terminals in places the place onshore services usually are not possible or fascinating for causes of harsh climate, security, price, or environmental impression.
Crown is lively in liquefaction, the place pure fuel from producers is supercooled to a liquid for transport by ship as LNG, and regasification, the place the LNG is turned again into fuel and delivered to customers and companies as pure fuel.
“With expertise in both areas, Crown has the potential to enable stable, secure, year-round LNG supplies to growing markets and locations exposed to harsh weather conditions. In doing so, the company aims to expand the global market for LNG (particularly LNG supplied from the U.S.) and contribute to lower carbon emissions in markets it serves by replacing coal with LNG,” Crown stated.
Crown says its bottom-fixed, gravity based mostly construction (“GBS”) design additionally is predicted to make sure decrease price and a lowered environmental footprint versus a comparable land-based LNG terminal various.
“This business combination with Catcha is a transformative step for accelerating Crown’s growth, with the aim to provide its investors with a stable, long-term return on their investment,” stated Swapan Kataria, CEO of Crown. “Our targeted blue-chip potential customer base will reflect the strong and growing global demand for harsh weather LNG infrastructure allowing for year-round operation to enable the global energy transition and ensure energy security by facilitating access to reliable natural gas supplies, as well as hydrogen, ammonia and power. The capital raised in this transaction will further strengthen our ability to execute on our diversified project pipeline in India, the UK, Vietnam, Canada, and other global markets.”
Crown Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Patrick Grove stated: “Catcha is excited to be partnering with Crown today. The LNG market is being driven by strong market tailwinds, including rising energy security concerns and the increasing use of natural gas as a transition fuel with a tenth of the emissions of coal fired plants. Crown will help to enable LNG access for under-served markets which have been traditionally ignored by existing operators and at the same time benefit everyone in the ecosystem – customers, governments, producers and investors. There is clearly a massive addressable market and use case in regions which experience harsh weather conditions, and we strongly believe that Crown, with their deep industry experience and innovative culture, will be a leader in addressing that demand.”
Crown stated that, pushed by means of pure fuel as a transition gas to exchange decommissioned coal infrastructure, in addition to general power safety considerations, world demand for LNG is anticipated to extend from 351 million tons each year (mtpa) in 2020 to roughly 570 mtpa by 2030, a rise of greater than 60%.
At the identical time, Crown stated, and because of this speedy and dramatic improve in demand, there may be anticipated to be an LNG provide deficit of greater than 40 mtpa by 2030.
“To reduce the anticipated LNG supply shortfall, additional new facilities for both export and import of LNG are needed over the next decade, many of which will need to be located in geographies prone to extreme weather events. Crown’s GBS designs for both liquefaction and regasification offshore terminals are able to significantly reduce impacts and downtime resulting from extreme weather. This is accomplished through advanced facility design that improves on and replaces floating and land-based alternatives for liquefaction and regasification,” Crown stated.
Crown’s GBS services are designed to relaxation instantly on the seabed, after preparation and leveling. The rectangular concrete construction, constructed onshore in drydock, is then towed to location.
A typical GBS incorporates two membrane tank compartments, which retailer the LNG briefly after unloading, or previous to supply onshore.
According to Crown, this ‘LNG island’ presents higher reliability permitting operations year-round, together with in harsh climate circumstances, compared with floating alternate options.
Bottom-fixed options for power growth have a virtually 50-year monitor document within the offshore power sector, with the primary regasification GBS coming on-line in 2009. Crown will assemble its GBS services in partnership with Aker Solutions, Wärtsilä Gas Solutions, and Siemens Energy.
Currently, Crown is advancing the event of two tasks towards FID – Kakinada, on the east coast of India, and Grangemouth, in Scotland.
The Kakinada venture, using GBS services, instantly helps the Indian authorities’s goal of accelerating pure fuel within the nation’s power combine from roughly 7% at present, to fifteen% by 2030. India’s fuel demand is predicted to double throughout the identical interval to 115 BCM, with development coming from a number of sectors, together with metropolis fuel distribution, petrochemicals, heavy trade, fertilizer and energy era.
“Crown’s Kakinada project is able to uniquely address this demand growth, having received a full-year, 365-day license to operate from the Indian government’s Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change based on the Company’s stable GBS terminal design. Comparable floating solutions for LNG delivery on the east coast of India have been approved for operation for just 270 days per year,” Crown stated.
Preliminary Front End Engineering and Design (“Pre-FEED”) research for the Kakinada venture have been accomplished by Crown’s worldwide companions.
The venture will benefit from present onshore pure fuel infrastructure within the nation, together with the East-West Pipeline, which has a capability of three Bcf per day and connects Kakinada to Gujarat by way of Hyderabad, Crown stated.
“The Company’s Grangemouth project, located on the east coast of Scotland, seeks to address the UK’s increasing drive for energy security post-Brexit and in the context of the Ukraine War’s impact on energy markets. Currently, the UK relies on just three facilities for LNG imports, which increased 74% from 2021 to 2022,” Crowns assist.
For the Grangemouth venture, Crown has entered into an exclusivity settlement with GBTron Lands Limited for the usage of the proposed offshore web site on the Forth River.
A web site examine for the deepwater port with LNG vessel entry has been accomplished, and Crown has begun the consenting course of with the Scottish Government, which will be accomplished in as few as seven months. Existing energy grid and fuel grid entry is on the market inside ten miles of the proposed web site location. The firm will make use of FSRU expertise for the Grangemouth venture.
Catcha has agreed to mix with Crown by PubCo based mostly on a pre-money valuation of Crown at roughly $600 million.
The transaction is predicted to offer $50 million of capital, with web proceeds going to fund each the Kakinada and Grangemouth tasks to closing funding resolution (FID). The implied professional forma enterprise valuation of PubCo is predicted to be roughly $685 million.
Crown has agreed to trigger all of its shareholders to roll their curiosity into PubCo. Shareholders who’re anticipated to symbolize roughly 90% of Crown’s fairness earlier than closing have already agreed to not promote any shares and contribute their shares in change for PubCo’s shares, which displays the Company’s assist for the mixture and confidence within the go-forward prospects for the PubCo.
After the shut of the transaction, the prevailing Crown management staff will stay in place.
