Frontier Resources to acquire Hyundai LNG Shipping in 3.8 trillion won deal

IMM Consortium said on 26 November it signed a Share Purchase Agreement to sell 100% of Aegis One, the holding company of Hyundai LNG Shipping, to Frontier Resources. The buyer is the shipping and resource development affiliate of Indonesia’s Sinar Mas Group, and the transaction is valued at around 3.8 trillion won including 3.4 trillion won in debt.

Hyundai LNG Shipping, once a division of Hyundai Merchant Marine, was spun off in 2014 when IMM Consortium purchased it for 1.03 trillion won, with equity investment excluding debt of about 400 billion won. At that time, the company operated six to eight LNG vessels and served Korea Gas Corporation as its sole client. Over 11 years, through fleet expansion and new overseas customers, it developed into a global LNG·LPG carrier.

In the past year, Hyundai LNG Shipping sold four aging steam turbine vessels, ordered new LNG·LPG carriers and secured long-term contracts with Petronas, Repsol, BGN and E1. As a result, its client mix shifted: KOGAS’s share of sales, at 100% in 2014, is expected to fall to about 23% in 2025, while global clients exceed 76%.

Hyundai LNG Shipping carries about 23% of KOGAS’s shipping volume, and when compared with KOGAS’s total LNG imports, its share is less than 6%. The company will continue to operate as a Korean-registered for-profit corporation and national shipping company and must maintain all state-assigned obligations regardless of shareholder changes.

The consortium had explored a sale since 2020, but earlier offers did not match its principal investment. A reassessment of value emerged due to developments in global LNG projects such as Alaska LNG, improved performance, new clients and a reinforced base of long-term contracts, leading to the selection of an overseas buyer that met its valuation criteria.

The Sinar Mas Group’s logistics and resource development networks in Asia and Australia are expected to help Hyundai LNG Shipping secure new regional projects. All maritime and onshore employees will remain after the transaction, and the company expects strengthened organizational focus under stable governance, with possible job creation in the medium to long term.

IMM Private Equity and IMM Investment are South Korea–based investment management entities that operate independently but often collaborate on transactions through consortium structures. They manage private equity and venture capital funds focused on corporate acquisitions, growth financing and sector-specific investments across industries including transportation, infrastructure and technology.

Hyundai LNG Shipping is a Korean-registered commercial shipping company specializing in liquefied gas transport through long-term and project-based maritime contracts. It operates LNG and LPG carriers under charter agreements with domestic and international energy companies and functions as a standalone corporate entity following its spin-off from its former parent.

Frontier Resources is a subsidiary within the Sinar Mas Group’s resource-related portfolio. It is formally engaged in activities connected to resource development and industrial logistics, with mandates that include upstream and midstream operations across energy and natural-resource sectors. The company’s corporate structure places it among the group’s businesses linked to shipping and resource supply chains in Asia.

Source : en.portnews.ru