Maritime Partners Buys AMSC's Jones Act Tanker Fleet
New Orleans-based Maritime Partners has reached a deal to acquire AMSC subsidiary American Tanker Holding Company, which owns a fleet of 10 Jones Act tankers.
Maritime Partners' newly formed Project Merchant Acquisition arm signed a share purchase agreement with Oslo-listed AMSC to acquire AHTC for an enterprise value of $746.7 million. AMSC will receive $249.3 million in gross cash proceeds from the sale.
The transaction is expected to close on or before October 31, 2023, subject to certain closing conditions and AMSC shareholder approval.
ATHC, through its subsidiaries, owns nine handysize products tankers and one handysize shuttle tanker, all of which are on long-term bareboat charter to Overseas Shipholding Group or Keystone Shipping and operated in the U.S. Jones Act market. All 10 ships were built at Aker Philadelphia Shipyard, now known as Philly Shipyard.
Privately held Maritime Partners provides maritime financing solutions for vessels used in the Jones Act trade, with a managed fleet of around 1,800 vessels, including a variety of towboats and barges available for lease.
"We are thrilled to acquire AMSC's Jones Act business which is a natural fit for our platform and consistent with our investment strategy," said Bick Brooks, the co-founder and CEO of Maritime Partners, LLC. "The acquired vessels are critical long-lived assets engaged in the transportation of nondiscretionary cargo throughout the United States. The vessels are employed on long-term bareboat charters with two strong counterparties. This acquisition will nicely complement our existing lease portfolio by diversifying lessee exposure, asset exposure and end market exposure within the protected Jones Act markets."
Pål Lothe Magnussen, CEO of AMSC, said, "We believe this is the ideal new owner of this business for the next phase in the lifecycle of these assets. 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. We believe that the long remaining commercial life of the fleet in combination with strong bareboat charter contract cover in a strong market represents a good opportunity and point in time for us to reconsider capital allocation for AMSC and strategy going forward, and this transaction is a natural step in this process."
Following completion of the Transaction, AMSC's only remaining vessel will be the subsea construction vessel Normand Maximus, which is chartered to a subsidiary of Solstad Offshore.
