Greek LNG shipping firm GasLog has entered into a definitive merger agreement with NYSE-listed GasLog Partners.
In January this year, GasLog sent a non-binding proposal to acquire all of the outstanding common units representing limited partner interests of GasLog Partners not already beneficially owned by GasLog.
Under that proposal, the Peter Livanos-led firm offered $7.70 per common unit in cash and now has increased the offer.
GasLog will acquire the outstanding common units of the partnership for $8.65 per common unit in cash, it said in a statement on Thursday.
Also, this consists in part of a special distribution by the partnership of $3.28 per common unit in cash that will be distributed to the partnership’s unitholders in connection with the closing of the transaction and the remainder to be paid by GasLog as merger consideration at the closing of the transaction, the firm said.
The overall consideration of $8.65 per common unit represents a 24 percent premium to the closing price of the partnership’s common units on January 24, 2023, the last trading day prior to the public disclosure of GasLog’s initial offer.
Transaction to close by Q3
GasLog expects the transaction to close by the end of the third quarter of 2023, subject to approval by holders of a majority of the common units of the partnership and the satisfaction of certain customary closing conditions.
The company owns 30.2 percent of the common units of the partnership and has entered into a support agreement with the latter committing to vote its common units in favor of the merger, it said.
GasLog added that the preference units of the partnership will remain outstanding and continue to trade on the New York Stock Exchange immediately following the completion of the transaction.
The fleet of GasLog Partners consists of 11 wholly-owned LNG carriers as well as three vessels on bareboat charters, with an average carrying capacity of about 159,000 cbm.
In total, the fleet of both GasLog and GasLog Partners consists of 38 LNG carriers with 33 on the water, one undergoing conversion to an FSRU, and four under construction.
Back in June 2021, GasLog completed its transaction with BlackRock’s Global Energy & Power Infrastructure team, taking the firm private.