Cyprus-based Yoda has purchased a stake from Evangelos Marinakis-led Capital Maritime & Trading in New York-listed LNG carrier owner Capital Product Partners.
Yoda, which invests in real state, technology, and healthcare, said in a statement on December 27 that the company’s board approved the entry into a unit purchase agreement with Capital Maritime to buy 10 million common units representing limited partnership interests in CPLP.
The deal is worth $160 million or $16 per common unit.
“The transaction constitutes a transaction at arm’s length and is part of the company’s business plan to further invest and expand its activities in the shipping sector, as CPLP is an international shipping company engaged in the seaborne transportation of natural gas,” Yoda said.
More specifically, CPLP is one of the “leading” US-listed owners of two-stroke LNG carriers with 8 currently operational and another ten under orders to be delivered within the next 3 years, it said.
CPLP is “well positioned to take advantage of the strong fundamentals” of the LNG industry with six open LNG carriers delivering between 2026-2027 and rights of first refusal on a unique fleet of LCO2 and ammonia carriers, Yoda said.
According to a separate filling by CPLP, Capital Maritime now owns 29.8 million shares or 54.2 percent of the shares in the company, while Miltiadis E. Marinakis, son of Evangelos Marinakis, holds 2.1 percent in the firm.
This means that that Yoda will hold an 18.1 percent stake in CPLP as Capital Maritime previously held a 72.3 percent stake in the firm.
Yoda now becomes the second-largest shareholder in CPLP.