TransAtlantic Petroleum Ltd. has entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger and a Loan and Security Agreement.
Agreement and Plan of Merger
On August 7, 2020, the Company entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger (the “Merger Agreement”), by and among the Company, TAT Holdco LLC, a Texas limited liability company (“Parent”) controlled by a group of holders (the “Preferred Shareholder Group”) representing 100% of the Company’s outstanding 12.0% Series A Convertible Redeemable Preferred Shares (the “Series A Preferred Shares”), and TAT Merger Sub LLC, a Texas limited liability company and wholly-owned subsidiary of Parent (“Merger Sub”), pursuant to which the Company will merge with and into Merger Sub and each of the Company’s issued and outstanding common shares, par value $0.10 per share (“Common Shares”), (other than the Excluded Shares and Dissenting Shares (each as defined in the Merger Agreement)) will be canceled and will be converted automatically into the right to receive $0.13 in cash (the “Merger Consideration”).
The members of the Preferred Shareholder Group are Longfellow Energy, LP (“Longfellow”), Dalea Partners, LP (“Dalea”), the Alexandria Nicole Mitchell Trust 2005, the Elizabeth Lee Mitchell Trust 2005, the Noah Malone Mitchell Trust 2005, Stevenson Briggs Mitchell, KMF Investments Partners, LP, West Investment Holdings, LLC, Randall I. Rochman, and Betsy Rochman. Longfellow and Dalea are affiliates of the Chairman of the Company’s Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer, N. Malone Mitchell 3rd (“Mitchell”).
A special committee comprised entirely of independent and disinterested directors of the Company’s board of directors (the “Board”) voted unanimously to recommend to the Board that it, and thereafter the Board (other than Mitchell, Randall I. Rochman, and Jonathon T. Fite) voted unanimously to approve and declare, among other things, that (i) the merger, the Merger Agreement, a guaranty made in connection with the Merger Agreement (collectively, the “Merger Documents”) and the transactions contemplated by the Merger Documents are procedurally fair to, and advisable and in the best interests of, the Company and its shareholders, including the Company’s unaffiliated shareholders, and (ii) the Merger Consideration is fair to, both from a financial point of view and otherwise, advisable and in the best interests of the Company’s shareholders, including the Company’s unaffiliated shareholders. Seaport Gordian Energy LLC served as the financial advisor to the special committee in connection with the merger and the Merger Agreement.
If the merger is consummated, the Company’s Common Shares will be delisted from the NYSE American Exchange and Toronto Stock Exchange and deregistered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, as soon as practicable following the effective time of the merger
The Merger Agreement contains representations, warranties, covenants, and termination rights provisions customary for transactions of this type.
Shareholders of the Company will be asked to vote on the adoption and approval of the Merger Agreement, a Bermuda statutory merger agreement, and the transactions contemplated thereby at a special meeting of the Company’s shareholders that will be held on a date to be announced. Consummation of the merger is subject to customary conditions, including without limitation, the adoption and approval of the Merger Agreement and the Bermuda statutory merger agreement by holders of Common Shares by at least 75% of the votes cast and holders of Series A Preferred Shares with at least 75% of the votes cast, in each case at a duly convened meeting of the shareholders of the Company at which a quorum is present (the “Requisite Company Vote”). In connection with the execution of the Merger Agreement, the members of the Preferred Shareholder Group have entered into a voting agreement pursuant to which such shareholders have agreed to vote in favor of the merger and the adoption of the Merger Agreement, subject to the limitations set forth in the voting agreement.
Loan and Security Agreement
On August 7, 2020, the Company entered into a Loan and Security Agreement (the “Loan Agreement”) with Dalea Investment Group, LLC (the “Lender”), an entity controlled by the Preferred Shareholder Group. Pursuant to the Loan Agreement, the Lender has committed to lend to the Company an aggregate principal amount of up to $8,000,000 (the “Loan”). Advances shall be made available by Lender and applied by the Company in accordance with a budget agreed to by the Lender and the Company and subject to milestones set forth in the Loan Agreement. The Company intends to use the proceeds of the Loan to finance the working capital needs of the Company and its subsidiaries in accordance with the budget.
The outstanding borrowings under the Loan Agreement bear interest at a rate equal to 10% per annum. Principal on the Loan does not amortize and is required to be repaid in full on the maturity date of August 7, 2021. The Loan may be optionally prepaid in whole or in part from time to time without fee, premium, or penalty.
The Company’s obligations under the Loan Agreement are secured by all of the Company’s present and future accounts, chattel paper, commercial tort claims, commodity accounts, commodity contracts, contracts receivable, deposit accounts, documents, financial assets, general intangibles, instruments, investment property (including all of the Company’s right, title, and interest in and to all of the capital stock of TransAtlantic Petroleum (USA) Corp. and TransAtlantic Worldwide Ltd., each a wholly-owned direct subsidiary of the Company), letters of credit, letter of credit rights, payment intangibles, securities, notes receivable, choses of action, security accounts, and security entitlements, now or hereafter owned, held, or acquired.
The Loan Agreement contains representations, warranties, covenants, and events of default.
