Greenberg Traurig Completes Employee Stock Ownership Plan Transaction for Martin Resource Management Corp.

BOCA RATON, Fla., Feb. 25, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The international law firm Greenberg Traurig represented Martin Resource Management Corporation (MRMC or the Company), a leading independent provider of marketing, distribution and transportation of hydrocarbon products and by-products and the co-owner of the general partner of publicly traded Martin Midstream Partners L.P. (NASDAQ: MMLP), in a second stage transaction with its Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) enabling MRMC to become a 100% employee owned company. In 2012, the ESOP had acquired a substantial minority interest in MRMC. 

Greenberg Traurig provided counsel in the areas of plan design, finance and banking arrangements, stock redemption, securities, tax, employee benefits and other matters related to the Company's ESOP structure. The firm also advised in the areas of corporate and ERISA fiduciary duties.

The Greenberg Traurig transaction team for the second stage sale of Martin Resource Management Corporation to the ESOP was led by shareholders Jeffrey S. Kahn and Rebecca G. DiStefano (Boca Raton), and Marc R.  Baluda (San Francisco).  Also on the team were Tax shareholders Brandon G. Feingold (Boca Raton), Alejandro M. Ruiz (San Francisco), Tom West (Washington D.C.), and Richard A. Sirus (Chicago); Corporate and Securities shareholders Ronald G. Skloss (Austin), Francis R. Bradley III  (Houston), and Jonathan I. Lessner (Wilmington); and Corporate and Securities associates, Catherine Yeager Livingston (Austin), and Joseph C. Workman (Chicago). The investment banking firm of CSG Partners  worked closely with Greenberg Traurig, and was led by Director George Thacker.

In November, the firm received the Global M&A Network's "North America M&A Deal of the Year - Middle Markets" award for its role in the first stage acquisition of the Company by its ESOP at the Americas M&A Atlas Awards Gala in New York City.

After the successful first stage ESOP sale in 2012, "MRMC reviewed the opportunity the ESOP represented, both from a corporate financial perspective and from the perspective of further sharing the equity of the business with its employees," said Kahn.  "By recognizing the continued enhanced productivity resulting from employee investment in the business, as well as the tax efficient benefits offered by Congress for broad-based employee ownership, the Company has further embraced the value proposition of ESOPs."

Upon completion of the ESOP transaction, Ruben Martin, CEO of the Company, stated "We are delighted to further transition ownership of our company to our valued employees. We are now in our best position to ensure that MRMC continues to build upon a strong culture, passion, customer service, and commitment to our communities."

About Greenberg Traurig, LLP
Greenberg Traurig, LLP is an international, multi-practice law firm with approximately 1750 attorneys serving clients from 36 offices in the United States, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Greenberg Traurig is among the Top 10 law firms on The National Law Journal's 2013 NLJ 350, an annual ranking of the largest firms in the U.S. For additional information, please visit www.gtlaw.com.

Contact:
Margie Garcia
Greenberg Traurig
Tel: 954.298.2945
Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Greenberg Traurig, LLP