DENVER, Nov. 20, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- John M. Fox,
co-founder of MarkWest Hydrocarbon, today announced Brian O'Neill, his co-founder of MarkWest
Hydrocarbon intends to vote the common units beneficially owned by
him against the merger. Both co-founders of MarkWest Hydrocarbon
urge unitholders to vote against this merger.
Brian O'Neill said: "I am in 100%
agreement with John Fox – this is
just a bad deal for MarkWest Energy's unitholders. I want to add
that the unit offering exchange of 1.09 MPLX units per MWE units is
an unacceptable offer price. Without a collar on the equity
component, I believe the deal was structured poorly from the
beginning.
"MWE has spent more than $10
billion in capital expenditures over the previous five
years, which means MPLX and its owner, Marathon Petroleum, are
merely refunding MWE's unitholders and leaving a small premium for
their efforts. Furthermore, I am against the $50 million plus consideration to current
officers of MWE. Given the absolute value decline of MPLX units
since the deal announcement in July, my recommendation is for this
transaction to be voted down."
John Fox said: "The vision Brian
and I had for MarkWest when co-founding this company did not
involve building one of the most admirable natural gas processing
franchises in the industry just to sell-out at the bottom of the
market! MarkWest is the #2 gas processor in the United States and the largest processor in
the liquids-rich Marcellus and Utica Shales. We're handing it over
to Marathon Petroleum for pennies on the dollar."
Fox said: "In light of the continued decline of the MPLX unit
price, my additional concern is how MPLX units may perform should
the merger be approved. As of the market close on November 19, 2015, MPLX trades at a 4.9% yield
and MarkWest at an 8.4% yield. If you assume the valuation is reset
to the midpoint between the two current distribution yields, or
6.7%, MPLX units could trade down another 25% to $28 per unit – a devastating drop from here. So
not only could we face a 50% distribution cut but a possible
continued drop in unit value as well. That is an additional
reason why I am urging investors to either withhold their vote or
vote no."
Fox said: "MarkWest unitholders – this no vote effort is
far from over. The voting agreements MPLX signed with three
shareholders only account for 15% of MarkWest's total outstanding
units. Top institutional shareholders, research analysts, and even
MarkWest employees, are telling me – despite ISS's recommendation
and Marathon's two attempts to sweeten the cash consideration of
the deal – they're still voting against the merger."
Fox concluded: "Our efforts to do what's best for MarkWest
unitholders continue to gain traction. Since November 4, 2015, my website,
www.iamvotingno.com, has received more than 4,400 views from
analysts, investors, reporters and employees of MarkWest, MPLX and
Marathon Petroleum. And, more than 500 analysts, investors,
reporters and employees of MarkWest, MPLX and Marathon Petroleum
listened to my conference call and webcast since November 17, 2015. Over the next two weeks, we'll
continue to return calls to unitholders with questions. We urge you
to contact us with any questions that you may have."
Brian O'Neill's background: Brian
is a co-founder of MarkWest and participated in its IPO. For
fifteen years he served as Executive Vice President and Chief
Operating Officer, and as a member of the Board of Directors.
He was a co-founder of a new MLP, High Sierra Energy in 2004,
and served as one of the two managing directors of the company and
was a member of the Board of Directors. For much of this time
he was also the Chairman of the Board. In 2012, Mr. O'Neill
resigned as Chairman and in 2013 at age 65 he resigned his
positions as an officer and Board member upon the consummation of
High Sierra's merger with NGL Energy.
Disclaimer: John Fox is
providing this material for general informational purposes
only. None of the information provided herein is intended to
be relied upon as investment advice. The opinions expressed in this
release are those of Mr. Fox as of November
20, 2015 and are subject to change at any time due to
changes in market, economic conditions, or new public information
pertinent to the proposed merger. These opinions are Mr. Fox's
alone, and do not reflect the opinions of any other member of the
Fox family.
The information and opinions contained in this release are
derived from proprietary and non-proprietary sources deemed by Mr.
Fox to be reliable and are not necessarily all inclusive. Mr. Fox
does not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of this
information. There is no guarantee that any forecasts made by any
party will come to pass. Reliance upon information in this material
is at the sole discretion of the reader.
Mr. Fox is not soliciting proxies relating to the MarkWest
unitholder meeting and does not have the authority to vote your
proxy. Mr. Fox urges his fellow unitholders to withhold their
proxies or vote against the merger.
Contact:
John M. Fox
E: Johnfox@iamvotingno.com
P: 303-926-4354
Website: www.iamvotingno.com
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SOURCE John M. Fox