The pipeline operator MPLX announced yesterday that it had agreed to acquire MarkWest Energy Partners.
MPLX – a partnership controlled by Marathon Petroleum Corp., a refinery and pipeline company – will buy MarkWest Energy Partners LP for US$15.billion. The deal will combine two companies.
MPLX, based in Findlay, Ohio, was created in 2012 by Marathon Petroleum to own and operate pipelines and other so-called midstream assets. Its assets include 2900 miles of pipeline in nine states; it posted revenue of US$548.3 million in 2014.
The newly formed company would have a market capitalisation of about US$21 billion.
Under the terms of the deal, MarkWest shareholders would receive the equivalent of US$78.64 a share in cash and shares, representing a 32% premium to the company’s closing price on Friday.
“This combination is a significant step in executing MPC’s strategy to grow its higher-valued, stable cash flow midstream business, by transforming MPLX into a large-cap, diversified master limited partnership,” Gary R. Heminger, the Marathon Petroleum President and Chief Executive, said in a statement.
Edited from various sources by Elizabeth Corner
Sources: Financial Times, Wall Street Journal, New York Times
Read the article online at: https://www.hydrocarbonengineering.com/refining/14072015/pipeline-operator-mplx-to-buy-markwest/
