BP to Buy BP Midstream Partners

BP plc and its affiliates and BP Midstream Partners LP (BPMP) have announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement for a BP U.S. affiliate to acquire all the outstanding common units of BPMP not already owned directly or indirectly by BP.

The deal, which BP highlights represents 47,837,828 common units, comprises an all-stock transaction where each unitholder of the Public Common Units would receive 0.575 of an American Depositary Share of BP in exchange for each Public Common Unit owned, BP outlined. The company noted that the deal follows an offer made by BP in August to acquire the publicly traded units of BPMP.

The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2022, subject to customary approvals. A subsidiary of BP, as the holder of a majority of the outstanding common units, has committed to vote its units to approve the transaction, BP noted. The conflicts committee of the BPMP board is also said to have unanimously approved the transaction. The board of directors of BP Midstream Partners GP LLC, the general partner of BPMP, had delegated the authority to review, evaluate, negotiate and approve the transaction on behalf of BPMP and the public unitholders to the conflicts committee of the BPMP board, BP highlighted.

“In line with BP’s strategy introduced last year of becoming an integrated energy company, this transaction will deepen BP’s interests in, and simplifies the ownership and governance structure of, midstream assets that support integration and optimization of its fuels value chain in the U.S.,” BP said in a company statement.

“This transaction provides the opportunity for BPMP unitholders to participate in this strategy,” the company added in the statement.

In October 2017, BPMP announced that it had commenced the initial public offering of 42,500,000 common units representing limited partner interests at an anticipated price of between $19.00 and $21.00 per common unit.

Earlier this month, BP announced that it had acquired a 28.57 percent stake in Gasrec, which is described as the UK’s largest dual provider of bio-LNG and bio-Compressed Natural Gas to road transport. In November, BP and Aker confirmed that they had successfully sold 18,010,000 Aker BP shares, representing a combined approximate five percent of shares in the company, at a price of $34.90 (NOK 310) a share.

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