ShawCor provides pipeline servicesEwan Nicholson/Handout
Energy services company ShawCor Ltd. announced Monday that it plans to eliminate its dual share structure.
Under the proposal, which requires shareholder and court approval, all of the company's class A and class B shares will be purchased by a newly formed Canadian company, ShawCor said in a statement issued after markets closed.
Class A shares are to be exchanged one-for-one with the new company.
Class B shares are to be exchanged for a mix new common shares and cash — either $43.43 in cash or 1.1 new common shares such that 90 per cent of the total consideration will be paid in cash and 10 per cent in new common shares.
At closing, a special dividend of $1 per share is to be paid on all remaining shares, with the new corporation and ShawCor amalgamating under the name ShawCor Ltd.
If approved, the arrangement is expected to close late in the first quarter of 2013 or early in the second quarter.
The class B shares closed at $40.22 Monday on the Toronto Stock Exchange, while the class A shares finished down 30 cents at $40.85.
ShawCor Ltd. is an energy services company specializing in products and services for the pipeline and pipe services and the petrochemical and industrial segments of the oil and gas industry. The company operates through eight divisions with more than 70 manufacturing and service facilities around the world.