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By Will Robinson – Reporter, Jacksonville Business Journal
2 hours ago
Jacksonville-based APR Energy, a global supplier of mobile energy generation, has been acquired for $750 million.
Seaspan Corporation (NYSE: SSW), a charter owner and operator of containerships, has agreed to the purchase, which values APR at $425 million and includes $325 million in APR debt. Seaspan has created a holding corporation, Atlas Corp., to be the parent of both Seaspan and APR.
APR, which leases more mobile gas turbines than any company in the world, will be acquired in an all-stock transaction valued at $11.10 per share.
"The Proposed Acquisition is a transformative transaction on our journey as professional asset managers," Atlas Chairman David Sokol said in a statement. "We are bringing together two leading, integrated platforms, in two industries in which we have long-term confidence – maritime and energy. APR has built a compelling business with contracted cash flows and a focused management team, led by their talented CEO Charles 'Chuck' Ferry.
"The addition of APR to Atlas will diversify our cash flows and expand our asset portfolio. We now have significant runway to deploy capital into two attractive businesses where scale and operational transparency can generate long-term shareholder value through cycles. We will provide further detail on the Proposed Acquisition and how it advances our corporate strategy at our Investor Day tomorrow."
Bing Chen will serve as Atlas CEO, and Ryan Courson will serve as Atlas CFO.
Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited was part of the consortium acquired APR in 2016 in a transaction that took the company private. Fairfax also owns 65 percent of Seaspan shares.
"We are thrilled to expand our partnership with David Sokol, Bing Chen and the Atlas management team," Fairfax CEO Prem Watsa said in a statement. "APR's management has successfully repositioned the company and strengthened its financial performance since we took the company private in 2016. Now under the guidance of Atlas, with their deep experience in the energy industry and capital allocation, we are excited to participate in the next phase of APR's growth. I am confident that the Atlas team is the best partner for APR for the long-term."
Both CEO Chuck Ferry and founder and Chairman John Campion support the acquisition.
"We know this will provide a significant opportunity to remain the best-in-class for delivering fast power while expanding our efforts into renewable, alternative fuels, and other longer-term power projects," said Ferry.
"The business is well positioned for its next phase of growth," said Campion. "APR has a bright future under the combined leadership of David Sokol and Chuck Ferry."
Though both under the Atlas umbrella, Seaspan and APR will operate independently, the announcement states.
Going forward, we remain 100% committed to our customers, as it is paramount that our partners continue to rely on Seaspan for dedicated and best-in-class service," Chen said. "We are investing to drive further improvement in our unique integrated platform, as we continue to lead the industry in service quality and market consolidation. We are confident that our consistent execution will create sustainable value for our stakeholders. Our unwavering commitment to our global customers is further demonstrated by the two recently announced acquisitions of seven large, high quality containerships to best serve our global customers."
The acquisition is subject to shareholder approval, a vote that will likely be called in February. |
