Magellan Midstream Partners to Purchase Longhorn Pipeline
28 July 2009 - 6:41AM
PR Newswire (US)
TULSA, Okla., July 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Magellan Midstream
Partners, L.P. (NYSE:MMP) announced today that its purchase of
substantially all of the assets of Longhorn Partners Pipeline, L.P.
has been approved by the bankruptcy court. Closing is set for July
29, with no additional approvals required. The 700-mile common
carrier pipeline system transports refined petroleum products from
Houston to El Paso, Texas. A terminal in El Paso, comprised of a
5-bay truck loading rack and over 900,000 barrels of storage, is
included in the purchase. This terminal serves local petroleum
products demand and distributes product to connecting third-party
pipelines for ultimate delivery to markets in Arizona, New Mexico
and, in the future, Northern Mexico. The purchase price for the
pipeline system is $250 million plus the fair market value of line
fill, which is currently estimated at approximately $100 million.
Management intends to finance the acquisition with debt. "The
Longhorn system is an excellent fit with our existing asset
portfolio and our stated intent to grow our presence in the Texas
market," said Don Wellendorf, chief executive officer. "Magellan is
quite knowledgeable of this system because we have served as its
operator for the past several years. We feel confident that our
business model as an independent pipeline company will attract
customers interested in transporting petroleum products to the
Southwestern area of the country and are already in discussions
with a number of potential customers." Following closing of the
acquisition, Magellan intends to connect this pipeline system to
the partnership's existing terminal at East Houston to provide
additional supply options for current and potential customers to
transport petroleum products to Southwestern markets. Further,
Magellan will complete construction of an additional 400,000
barrels of storage that is currently underway at the El Paso
terminal. Both projects should be complete by mid-2010 at an
estimated cost of $25 million. Because this asset had minimal
commercial activity following the former owner's bankruptcy filing
last year, Magellan anticipates a ramp-up of operations during the
first one to two years of ownership as a customer base is built for
this pipeline system. Following this ramp-up period, the
partnership expects this acquisition to generate financial results
in line with its typical targeted return for expansion capital
projects of 6 to 8 times EBITDA, or earnings before interest, taxes
and depreciation. The partnership plans to discuss more specifics
about the acquisition, including its expected financial impact to
2009 results, as part of its second-quarter earnings release on
Mon., Aug. 3 and related call at 1:30 p.m. Eastern that day. To
participate in the conference call, dial (800) 289-0726 and provide
code 4352508. Investors also may listen to the call via the
partnership's website at http://www.magellanlp.com/webcasts.asp.
About Magellan Midstream Partners, L.P. Magellan Midstream
Partners, L.P. (NYSE:MMP) is a publicly traded partnership formed
to own, operate and acquire a diversified portfolio of energy
assets. The partnership primarily transports, stores and
distributes refined petroleum products. More information is
available at http://www.magellanlp.com/. MMP's general partner
interest and related incentive distribution rights are owned by
Magellan Midstream Holdings, L.P. (NYSE:MGG). Portions of this
document may constitute forward-looking statements as defined by
federal law. Although management believes any such statements are
based on reasonable assumptions, there is no assurance that actual
outcomes will not be materially different. Additional information
about issues that could lead to material changes in performance is
contained in the partnership's filings with the Securities and
Exchange Commission. Contact: Investors: Media: Paula Farrell Bruce
Heine (918) 574-7650 (918) 574-7010
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20031107/DAMAGELOGO
http://photoarchive.ap.org/ DATASOURCE: Magellan Midstream
Partners, L.P. CONTACT: Investors, Paula Farrell, +1-918-574-7650,
, or Media, Bruce Heine, +1-918-574-7010, , both of Magellan
Midstream Partners, L.P. Web Site: http://www.magellanlp.com/
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