Oiltanking Holding Americas Announces United Bulk Terminal Acquisition

HOUSTON, May 11, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Bulk Handling USA, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Oiltanking Holding Americas, Inc. ("OTA"), today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire a 100% ownership interest in U.S. United Bulk Terminal, LLC ("UBT"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of United Maritime Group, LLC ("UMG").

Located on the Mississippi River, UBT is the largest dry bulk export terminal on the Gulf Coast and is considered a critical logistic link in coal and petroleum coke international supply chains.  In addition to an active, on-going business that handled over 11 million tons in 2011, the facility has ample land for further expansion and development. The facility offers a full suite of ground-based service capabilities including storage, blending and sampling and has a market leading dry bulk barge fleeting operation as well as the ability to accommodate multiple vessels simultaneously.

"We are excited to add this premier set of assets to our growing dry bulk platform, and we believe that UBT will serve as the foundational asset to drive further organic opportunities and acquisitions for us going forward," said Carlin Conner, CEO and President of OTA.  "We anticipate significant growth at this terminal over the next two years and plan to spend approximately $70 million to increase throughput capacity, improve handling flexibility and develop world-class blending capabilities."

"We are eager to leverage Oiltanking's global presence and work together with the employees and customers to jointly grow Oiltanking's dry bulk platform into a leading provider of bulk handling services globally," added Jan Vogel, President of Bulk Handling USA. 

Commenting further, Conner said, "This strategic acquisition will give OTA access to a large, diversified customer portfolio of producers, refiners, traders and utilities that will complement our existing asset base in North America which consists of terminals in Texas City and Port Neches, Texas; Joliet, Illinois; our 71% combined general partner and limited partner interests in Oiltanking Partners, L.P. (NYSE: "OILT"); and Bulk Handling USA, Inc., which through a joint-venture currently operates two petroleum coke handling facilities".

Completion of the acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions, including customary regulatory approvals, and the transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2012.

About Oiltanking

Oiltanking has been active in the United States since the mid-1970s and currently owns and operates assets within the United States including terminals in Texas City and Port Neches, Texas and Joliet, Illinois as well as a dry bulk handling company, Bulk Handling USA, Inc.  OTA also owns a 71% combined general partner and limited partner interest in Oiltanking Partners, L.P. (NYSE: "OILT"), a growth-oriented publicly traded master limited partnership engaged in the terminaling, storage and transportation of crude oil, refined petroleum products and liquefied petroleum gas.

Oiltanking Holding Americas, Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Oiltanking GmbH.  Oiltanking GmbH is a subsidiary of Marquard & Bahls AG, Germany, a leading petroleum company that is privately owned. Oiltanking is the second largest independent tank storage provider for petroleum products, chemicals and gases worldwide. The company owns and operates 72 terminals in 22 countries within Europe, North and South America, the Middle East, India as well as Asia. Oiltanking has an overall storage capacity of approximately 121 million barrels. For more information about Oiltanking, visit the website at www.oiltanking.com.

About United Maritime Group

United Maritime Group is an integrated transportation company focused on serving the domestic and export coal and petroleum coke markets.  UMG was acquired from TECO Energy in December 2007 by an investment group, including Greenstreet Equity Partners LLC, an affiliate of Greenstreet Partners LP, a private investment company, Jefferies Capital Partners, a middle-market private equity investment group, AMCI Capital L.P., a joint venture between the owners of privately held American Metals and Coal International, Inc., a global coal and resources firm, and affiliates of First Reserve Corporation, a leading investment firm specializing in the energy industry.  For more information on UMG, visit the website at www.unitedmaritimegroup.com.

Contact:
Jan P. Vogel, President
Bulk Handling USA, Inc.
(281) 457-7900

SOURCE Oiltanking Holding Americas, Inc.