News
Inter Pipeline puts terminal sale on hold
“Despite being at an advanced stage of this process, we have made the decision to suspend sale activities,” says Christian Bayle, Inter Pipeline’s president/CEO.
“Europe, like the rest of the world, is urgently addressing the Covid-19 pandemic. All European countries we operate in have recently implemented sensible measures to greatly restrict travel and human contact. Potential purchasers of this business have been significantly affected which has had a material impact on the execution of our process. This is clearly not the right environment to pursue and complete a major pan-European transaction, though we may revisit this process at a later date.”
The decision to explore the idea of a potential sale was announced back in August last year with the intention that, should a sale be completed, proceeds could be used to reduce outstanding debt and finance Inter Pipeline’s capital expenditure program.
At that time Christian Bayle stressed “Inter Terminals is a high-quality business with outstanding management and staff. It has made an important contribution to the success and growth of Inter Pipeline over the past 14-years. Our decision to explore alternatives is consistent with Inter Pipeline’s practice of making prudent long-term portfolio management decisions particularly in light of our organic growth initiatives.”
There was never a definitive timeline to complete the process nor any assurance that a transaction would result from it
Inter Terminals is one of the largest independent bulk liquid storage businesses in Europe with operations in the United Kingdom, Denmark, Sweden, Germany, Netherlands and Ireland and approximately 37 million barrels of storage capacity across 23 terminals. Inter reports that demand for storage capacity is currently at very high levels, with tank utilisation standing at some 95%.