Natural Resource Partners L.P. to Acquire VantaCore Partners LP For $205M

Natural Resource Partners L.P.

today reported that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire VantaCore Partners LP, a privately held limited partnership specializing in the construction materials industry, for $205 million, subject to customary purchase price adjustments. The acquisition is anticipated to close in the fourth quarter. NRP expects the acquisition to be immediately accretive to both earnings and cash flow. Formed in 2006 to acquire profitable, well-managed and competitively advantaged mid-sized aggregates companies, VantaCore is now estimated to be one of the top 25 aggregates producers in the United States. To date VantaCore has successfully integrated seven companies and has an experienced management team in place that will facilitate future growth both organically and through additional acquisitions. Headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, VantaCore operates three hard rock quarries, six sand and gravel plants, two asphalt plants and a marine terminal. Its current operations are located in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky and Louisiana. VantaCore is currently owned by a consortium of institutional investors, including Trilantic Capital Partners as majority owner, Kayne Anderson Energy Development Company, Hartz Alternative Investments, LLC and Corridor Private Holdings, Inc., and by members of its management team. VantaCore will be operated as a wholly owned subsidiary of NRP, and will continue to be managed by VantaCore's Chief Executive Officer, Colin Oerton, and VantaCore's Chief Operating Officer, Perry Donahoo. NRP anticipates that VantaCore will generate approximately $25 million in EBITDA over the next twelve months. "With this acquisition, we are continuing down the path of diversifying NRP, building on our recent track record of smart, well-considered additions to our natural resource properties. Upon completion of the acquisition, NRP will have invested over $550 million since January 2013 in non-coal related businesses and, as we demonstrated with our second quarter results, those acquisitions are contributing significant additional cash flows to NRP," said Wyatt Hogan, Executive Vice President of NRP. "This acquisition also will significantly enhance NRP's platform for growth in the construction aggregates business, especially through VantaCore's operations that supply limestone and base material to oil and gas companies in the Marcellus and Utica shale plays. We are acquiring an experienced management team as well as all of the approximately 230 employees who currently operate VantaCore's businesses. We are excited to welcome them into the NRP family. NRP is focused on dedicating more capital to the construction materials industry, and this acquisition brings us the experienced team that will allow NRP to make that happen." "We are thrilled to become part of the NRP team, and look forward to utilizing NRP's capital and industry knowledge to continue to grow our business," said Colin Oerton, VantaCore's Chief Executive Officer. The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions, including clearance under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act. As consideration for the acquisition, NRP plans to issue approximately $36 million in NRP common units to certain of the sellers, including Kayne Anderson and Hartz Alternative Investments, and to fund the remainder through cash and borrowings under NRP (Operating) LLC's revolving credit facility.