The deal will see the division of the US energy gianttake control of five trading vessels under the APT brand and four newbuildingsbooked by SCT.
Kinder Morgan says the move for the companies, controlledby Blackstone Group and Cerberus Capital Management, is worth $962m.
John Schlosser, president of KMP’s Terminals segment,explained: “This is a strategic and complementary extension of our existingcrude oil and refined products transportation business.
“Product demand is growing and sources of supplycontinue to change, in part due to the increased shale activity. As a result,there is more demand for waterborne transportation to move these products. Weare purchasing tankers that provide stable fee-based cash flow throughmulti-year contracts with major credit worthy oil producers.”
As part of the deal the buyer has injected $214m tofund the completion of the four SCT newbuildings on order at General Dynamics’NASSCO Shipyard.
Sean Klimczak, senior managing director at Blackstone,said: “We have enjoyed our partnership with APT’s management team and wish themcontinued success with Kinder Morgan in this next phase of APT’s growth.”
IPO mystery
The takeover comesonly a month after Robert Kurz-led APTreactivated efforts to list in the New York a week after mysteriously abandoningthe float.
The first draft of the company’s IPOprospectus was filed with securities regulators over the summer and a series ofrevised editions followed not long after.
When APT filed a fourth update on 31October it was widely believed a listing would be sealed by year-end, which iswhy many were caught off guard when it pulled the plug two weeks later.
