PE-backed Cheniere Energy Partners files for $690m IPO
Cheniere Energy Partners (CEP) - a subsidiary of Cheniere Energy, a US liquefied natural gas (LNG) company backed by Hong Kong's RRJ Capital and Blackstone credit arm GSO Capital - hopes to raise as much as $690million through an IPO on the New York Stock Exchange.
According to a release, the parent company will use the funds raised via the IPO to develop its existing assets, future projects and for working capital. CEP, which has filed a registration with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), will list under the symbol CQH. Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley will act as the joint book-running managers for the proposed offering.
Cheniere - which owns 55.9% of CEP - had been backed by RRJ and Singapore's Temasek Holdings back in May 2012 when they together paid $468 million for a 19% stake in the company. Cheniere had put the proceeds towards the purchase of $500 million of a $2 billion equity securities issue by CEP, a master limited partnership. The partnership, which controls the Sabine Pass LNG project in Louisiana - America's first LNG export plant - required the capital to support its development.
Blackstone Group - which owns 29% of CEP - had invested $1.5 billion the limited partnership and then reportedly led a round of funding that saw China Investment Corporation (CIC) and GIC Private each put in around $500 million. Then in February, RRJ and GSO bought the bulk of $372 million in shares issued by CEP.
Last month, Temasek Holdings has halved its stake in Cheniere, taking advantage of a spike in the company's shares. The Singapore fund sold had 9.2 million shares in the second quarter of 2013 at a valuation of $257 million.
The Sabine Pass project already has LNG sale and purchase agreements lined up with a string of oil and gas majors that will kick in once production starts, currently scheduled for late 2015. Cheniere expects global LNG imports to rise from 303 million tons per annum in 2015 to 511 million tons by 2030. Asia will account for 60% of this demand.
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