The planned merger between Belgian gas carrier Exmar and Norwegian, John Frederiksen-owned Flex LNG has been called off, announced both parties in a joint press release today.

The merger was announced on July 1st this year. The maneuver should have resulted in a new company under the name Exmar LNG ltd., whose total value would have been around USD 2.3 billion. This would have made Exmar LNG one of the largest independent players on the market, the parties had said in the press release announcing the merger.