Martin Midstream says Glass Lewis backs buyout deal with Martin Resource
Updates with additional detail throughout on proposed transaction, company structure, unit holdings
Dec 18 (Reuters) -Martin Midstream Partners MMLP.O said on Wednesday that proxy advisory firm Glass Lewis has recommended the energy infrastructure firm's unitholders vote for the company's proposed buyout deal with Martin Resource Management Corp.
The announcement of the Glass Lewis report comes days after Martin Midstream had said another proxy advisory firm, Institutional Shareholder Services, had also recommended a positive vote for the deal.
Martin Midstream agreed to a $157-million deal with Martin Resource Management Corp in October that would result in MRMC acquiring the units it does not already own for $4.02 per common unit. The agreed transaction came at a higher offer than MRMC originally proposed in May.
The proposed MRMC deal was unsuccessfully challenged by two hedge funds that offered a competing bid to buy Martin Midstream. Since then, Nut Tree Capital Management and Caspian Capital, which have said they have combined economic interest equivalent to 13.6% of Martin Midstream, have urged unitholders to vote against the deal.
The unitholder meeting on whether to sanction the MRMC buyout is scheduled for Dec. 30.
Martin Midstream, which focuses on storing and transporting fuels, said Glass Lewis has reported the merger represents an "attractive exit valuation and premium for the company's unaffiliated unitholders".
Nut Tree, Caspian, Glass Lewis and ISS did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
MRMC is headed by Ruben S. Martin III, whose father in 1951 set up the business to which MRMC and Martin Midstream trace their roots. It currently holds 15.7% of the common units of Martin Midstream and controls the general partner.
Martin Midstream is structured as a tax-efficient master limited partnership. In an MLP, the ownership is split into publicly traded common units, and also general partner units that have outsized influence because the owner of these units controls the governance of the partnership.
Reporting by Sourasis Bose in Bengaluru and David French in New York; Editing by Vijay Kishore and Rod Nickel
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