General Maritime, Arlington Tankers merge

General Maritime, Arlington Tankers merge

General Maritime Corp. and Arlington Tankers Ltd. said they have entered into a definitive agreement whereby the two companies will combine in a stock-for-stock combination.

   Both companies are listed on the New York Stock Exchange and said the combination “represents a highly strategic transaction for shareholders of both General Maritime and Arlington Tankers.”

   Combined, the two companies will have a fleet of 31 vessels with an average age of eight years and carrying capacity of about 4 million deadweight tons.

   Under terms of the definitive agreement, approved unanimously by the boards of both companies, shareholders of General Maritime will receive 1.340 shares of the combined company for each share of General Maritime held. Shareholders of Arlington Tankers will receive one share of the combined company for each share of Arlington Tankers held.

   They will have a combined market capitalization of about $1.1 billion, and a combined enterprise value of about $2 billion.

   The combined company will keep the General Maritime Corp. name and be headquartered in New York City. Shares in the combined company will continue to be listed on the NYSE and trade under the ticker symbol GMR. Existing shareholders of General Maritime will own about 73 percent of the combined company and the existing shareholders of Arlington Tankers will own about 27 percent of the combined company.

   Peter Georgiopoulos, General Maritime’s chief executive officer, will become chairman, John Tavlarios will be president, Jeffrey Pribor chief financial officer, and John Georgiopoulos as executive vice president, treasurer and secretary.

   General Maritime said it intends to discuss with Ed Terino, CEO of Arlington, a consulting arrangement for assistance in the post-closing transition period. The board of directors of the combined company will comprise six current General Maritime directors and one director from Arlington Tankers.