Golar LNG Prices $500M 7.5% Senior Notes Due 2031

Hamilton, Bermuda, September 24, 2026 — Golar LNG Limited (Nasdaq: GLNG) said on 24 September 2026 that it priced a private offering of $500 million in aggregate principal amount of unsecured senior notes due 2031. The notes carry a 7.5% annual coupon, mature December 15, 2031, and were issued at 99% of principal, the company said. The notes are senior unsecured obligations of the company, and the sale to initial purchasers is expected to settle on October 8, 2026, subject to customary closing conditions.

Context — Why Golar LNG Is Borrowing $500 Million Now

Golar LNG did not disclose in the report what the proceeds will fund, nor did it name a use of proceeds. The forward-looking section refers only to 'the intended use of proceeds' without specifying it, and the same section points readers to the company's most recent annual report on Form 20-F filed with the SEC for the risk factors governing its business.

What the report does establish is the market price of Golar's unsecured credit over a 2031 horizon. A 7.5% coupon priced at 99 cents implies investors are being paid well above the risk-free curve to hold the paper, which places the issue squarely in high-yield territory rather than investment grade.

The structure tells the same story. The notes are unsecured and rank alongside other senior unsecured obligations rather than ahead of them, so holders absorb the full credit risk of the parent. The company chose a private placement under Rule 144A and Regulation S rather than a registered public offering, which limits the buyer base to qualified institutional buyers in the United States and permitted offshore accounts.

That route skips SEC registration and the disclosure that comes with it, and it usually closes faster. The trade-off is a narrower pool of buyers and, typically, a concession in yield to compensate for the reduced liquidity of an unregistered security.

The catalyst is the calendar: pricing on 24 September, settlement on 8 October 2026. Between those dates the company has locked its coupon and can plan around a known funding cost.

Data — What the Note Terms Show

Term	Detail
Principal	$500 million
Coupon	7.5% per year
Maturity	December 15, 2031
Issue price	99% of par
Ranking	Senior unsecured
Settlement	October 8, 2026
Placement	Rule 144A / Regulation S

At a 99% issue price, Golar receives $495 million of gross proceeds against $500 million of principal, a $5 million discount. The company did not state the fees payable to the initial purchasers, so the net figure is not disclosed.

The 7.5% coupon is the number that matters for relative value. It sets the annual cash cost on the new debt at $37.5 million, calculated on the $500 million face amount. That is a fixed obligation running until December 2031, regardless of what happens to Golar's cash generation over the next five years.

The five-year-plus tenor also matters. December 2031 sits beyond the typical 2029-2030 maturity wall that many corporate issuers have been refinancing, so this paper extends Golar's unsecured curve further out in time.

For comparison, the report gives no peer coupon, no prior Golar issuance, and no rating from any agency. The only reference to past disclosure is the Form 20-F. A reader looking for how 7.5% compares to Golar's earlier cost of debt will not find it here; the company did not provide it.

Analysis — What a 7.5% Unsecured Coupon Signals

The pricing clears a specific funding objective. Golar now has $500 million of committed, fixed-rate, unsecured capital with a maturity date past 2031. That is balance-sheet flexibility for a company whose assets are floating LNG vessels and whose revenue depends on charter contracts and commodity-linked tolling arrangements.

Second-order effects run through the shipping and LNG complex. Peer LNG carriers and floating-production operators that need to term out debt will look at this print as a reference point. If the deal is absorbed well, comparable issuers can point to it when negotiating their own coupons. If it prices wide, the read-across works in reverse and raises the cost of capital for the group.

The counterparty here is the credit investor, not the equity holder. High-yield funds, insurance accounts, and crossover buyers that hold energy credit are the natural buyers of a 144A note with this structure. Equity holders at Nasdaq: GLNG own the residual claim, which sits behind this $500 million of senior unsecured debt in a liquidation.

The counter-argument is straightforward. Unsecured paper at 7.5% is not cheap money, and a company issuing at that level is paying up for flexibility rather than tapping a tight investment-grade market. The notes rank below any secured debt Golar may carry, and the company did not disclose its total secured obligations in the report.

Positioning favors credit over equity in the near term. Bondholders get a contractual 7.5% and a defined maturity; equity holders get whatever is left after that coupon is paid.

Outlook — What to Watch After October 8

Settlement on 8 October 2026 is the first checkpoint. If the deal closes on schedule, the notes are issued and the $495 million gross proceeds land on Golar's balance sheet. A delay or failure to meet customary closing conditions would leave the company without the committed funding.

A second catalyst is disclosure of the use of proceeds. The report mentions an intended use without naming it, so the next Form 20-F or interim filing is where investors should look for how the $500 million is deployed. Any future Golar issuance would also price off this 7.5% reference.

On levels, the report names no trading range for the notes and no secondary market quote. The relevant reference points are the 7.5% coupon and the 99% issue price; any trading away from par in the secondary market is the first real-time signal of how the market rates Golar's unsecured risk.

Watch the December 15, 2031 maturity as the terminal date, and October 8, 2026 as the near-term one.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does Golar LNG's $500 million note offering mean for retail investors?

The notes were placed privately under Rule 144A and Regulation S, so they were not registered under the Securities Act and were not offered to the general public. Retail investors cannot buy them directly. The relevant read-through for anyone holding Nasdaq: GLNG stock is that the company has added $500 million of senior unsecured debt with a 7.5% coupon maturing in 2031, which ranks ahead of equity claims.

Why is Golar LNG paying 7.5% on these notes?

The report does not explain the coupon. What it does show is that the notes are unsecured, rank pari passu with other senior unsecured obligations, and were sold privately rather than through a registered offering. Unregistered 144A paper typically carries a yield concession for reduced liquidity. The 7.5% rate is the market-clearing level for Golar's unsecured credit at this tenor, priced on 24 September 2026 and issued at 99% of par.

What happens next for Golar LNG after the notes settle?

Settlement is expected on October 8, 2026, subject to customary closing conditions. After that, Golar owes $37.5 million in annual interest on the $500 million face amount until the December 15, 2031 maturity. The company has not disclosed what the proceeds will fund. Investors should watch future SEC filings for the use of proceeds, and any subsequent Golar issuance for how the 7.5% coupon compares.

Bottom Line

Golar LNG locked in $500 million of unsecured funding at a 7.5% coupon to 2031, a cost of debt that signals high-yield pricing rather than investment-grade access.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. CFD trading carries high risk of capital loss.