AMSC To Sell American Tanker Holding Company For $249.3 Mln

(RTTNews) - AMSC ASA (AMSC) and Maritime Partners, LLC, said on Tuesday that AMSC and Project Merchant Acquisition LLC, a firm owned by a fund managed by Maritime Partners, LLC, have signed a share purchase deal for PM Acquisition's purchase of American Tanker Holding Company, Inc. a wholly-owned unit of AMSC.

With this, AMSC will get $249.3 million, divided between consideration for the shares in ATHC and repayment of a shareholder loan, reflecting an enterprise value of ATHC of $746.7 million. The companies expect that the transaction to close on or before October 31.

Pal Lothe Magnussen, CEO of AMSC said: "…The management team at AMSC is pleased that a Maritime Partners managed fund, a leading Jones Act leasing company, is acquiring our Jones Act business. AMSC's ownership tenure has surpassed 18 years since the ships were ordered, during which significant financial profits have been created and provided to AMSC and its shareholders."

ATHC, through its units, owns nine handysize products tankers and one handysize shuttle tanker, all of which are on long-term bareboat charter to Overseas Shipholding Group Inc. (OSG) or Keystone Shipping Co. and operated in the U.S. Jones Act market.

Pareto Securities AS provided a fairness opinion to AMSC stating that the transaction, from a financial point of view, is fair to AMSC.