Consortium Reports ‘Meaningful Progress’ in Atlas Takeover Negotiations

A consortium made up of existing major shareholders of NYSE-listed Atlas (ATCO) Corporation and Ocean Network Express is reporting “meaningful progress” in their bid to take Atlas private at the previously raised cash offer of $15.50 per share.

So far no definitive deal has been reached.

The consortium is composed of David L. Sokol, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Atlas, certain affiliates of Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited, the Washington Family, and Ocean Network Express, the world’s seventh largest container shipping company. Together, the consortium already owns or controls approximately 68% of the fully-diluted outstanding common shares of Atlas.

Atlas Corporation’s portfolio includes Seaspan Corporation, a containership leasing company, and APR Energy, which provides mobile power plants to underserved markets and industries. Seaspan’s fleet consists of 131 containerships and another 70 under construction, representing over 1.95M TEU on a fully-delivered basis.

The consortium originally offered $14.45 per share in cash for all remaining ATCO shares in early August, representing a 32.1% and 28.8% premium over the 30-day and 60-day average closing prices. The consortium later raised its offer to $15.50 per share, or $4.4 billion.

Shares of ATCO opened at $14.87 on Monday and were down by about 1% as of 1 p.m. EDT.

The offer includes payment of all ordinary course third quarter and fourth quarter 2022 dividends regardless of the timing of any closing.

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