Westlake Announces Increase in Target Distribution Thresholds for Incentive Distribution Rights (IDRs) of Westlake Chemical Partners LP
Westlake Chemical Corporation (“Westlake”) (NYSE: WLK) and Westlake
Chemical Partners LP (the “Partnership”) (NYSE: WLKP) today announced
that the board of directors of Westlake Chemical Partners GP LLC, the
general partner of the Partnership, and Westlake approved an amendment
(the “Amendment”) to the Partnership’s partnership agreement, pursuant
to which the target distribution thresholds above which the
Partnership’s incentive distribution rights (IDRs) held by Westlake are
entitled to receive the corresponding portion of distributions paid by
the Partnership, have been increased as follows:
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Quarterly Distribution per Unit
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Unitholders
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Incentive Distribution Rights
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First Target Distribution
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$1.2938
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100%
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0%
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Second Target Distribution
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$1.4063
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85%
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15%
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Third Target Distribution
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$1.6875
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75%
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25%
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Thereafter
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> $1.6875
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50%
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50%
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The Amendment was adopted in an effort to further strengthen the
underlying value of the Partnership, improve its cost of capital, and
enhance its long-term distribution growth prospects. The Amendment is
immediately accretive to the Partnership’s cash flow per unit and
coverage.
With or without IDRs, we expect over time Westlake will continue to
receive the same cash flows from Westlake Chemical OpCo LP and the
Partnership. The Amendment supports accretive drop-down transactions
from Westlake to the Partnership and supports Westlake’s MLP strategy by
continuing to keep the Partnership’s cost of capital competitive.
“We are pleased to announce Westlake’s ongoing support of the
Partnership through the adoption of the Amendment. By resetting the IDR
distribution tiers, Westlake is relieving the Partnership of the IDR
cash flows for an extended period which improves the Partnership’s cost
of capital and supports its ability to continue to make distributions
in-line with its historical growth rates,” said Westlake’s President and
Chief Executive Officer Albert Chao. “Whereas to Westlake, the reset
enhances the Partnership as a source of advantaged equity capital to
grow Westlake’s business, thus the reset of the IDR distribution tiers
directly benefits both the Partnership and Westlake.”
The Amendment became effective on July 27, 2018, and will apply to all
distributions starting with any distribution with respect to the second
quarter of 2018.
The statements in this release and the related teleconference
relating to matters that are not historical facts, such as distribution
growth, our ability to complete drop-down and other acquisitions or
accretive investments and the potential benefits to Westlake and the
Partnership, are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking
statements are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. Actual
results could differ materially, based on factors including, but not
limited to, operating difficulties; the volume of ethylene that we are
able to sell; the price at which we are able to sell ethylene; changes
in the price and availability of feedstocks; changes in prevailing
economic conditions; actions of Westlake Chemical Corporation; actions
of third parties; inclement or hazardous weather conditions, including
flooding, and the physical impacts of climate change; environmental
hazards; changes in laws and regulations (or the interpretation
thereof); inability to acquire or maintain necessary permits; inability
to obtain necessary production equipment or replacement parts; technical
difficulties or failures; labor disputes; difficulty collecting
receivables; inability of our customers to take delivery; fires,
explosions or other industrial accidents; our ability to borrow funds
and access capital markets; and other risk factors. For more detailed
information about the factors that could cause actual results to differ
materially, please refer to the Partnership's Annual Report on Form 10-K
for the year ended December 31, 2017, which was filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission in March 2018.
Conference Call
Westlake and the Partnership will host a conference call at 1:00 p.m.
Eastern Time (12:00 p.m. Central Time) on Monday, July 30, 2018, to
discuss the Amendment. Presentation slides will also be available on
Westlake’s and the Partnership’s websites.
To access the conference call, dial (855) 760-8160, or (704) 288-0624
for international callers, approximately 10 minutes prior to the
scheduled start time and reference passcode 6068415.
The conference call will also be available via webcast at https://edge.media-server.com/m6/p/7fe2uibu
and the press release and presentation slides can be obtained via
Westlake’s website at https://www.westlake.com/investor-relations
and the Partnership’s website at http://investors.wlkpartners.com/CorporateProfile.
This call will be available for replay beginning at 3:00 p.m. Eastern
Time and may be accessed until 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on August 6,
2018. The replay can be accessed by calling the following numbers:
domestic callers should dial (855) 859-2056 and international callers
may access the replay at (404) 537-3406. The access code at both numbers
is 6068415.
About Westlake Chemical Corporation
Westlake Chemical Corporation is an international manufacturer and
supplier of petrochemicals, polymers and building products with
headquarters in Houston. The company's range of products includes:
ethylene, polyethylene, styrene, propylene, chlor-alkali and derivative
products, PVC suspension and specialty resins, PVC compounds, and PVC
building products including siding, pipe, fittings and specialty
components, windows, fence, deck and film. For more information, visit
the company's Web site at www.westlake.com.
About Westlake Chemical Partners
Westlake Chemical Partners is a limited partnership formed by Westlake
Chemical Corporation to operate, acquire and develop facilities for the
processing of natural gas liquids as well as other qualifying
activities. Headquartered in Houston, the Partnership owns a 18.3%
interest in Westlake Chemical OpCo LP. Westlake Chemical OpCo LP’s
assets include three facilities in Calvert City, Kentucky, and Lake
Charles, Louisiana which process ethane and propane into ethylene, and
an ethylene pipeline. For more information about Westlake Chemical
Partners LP, please visit http://www.wlkpartners.com/.
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