Business Week on SemGroup
John A. Catsimatidis
Business Week magazine this week wrote about the attempts of New York billionaire John A. Catsimatidis to gain control of bankrupt Tulsa energy company SemGroup LP. The supermarket magnate has taken a hard-line approach to acquire SemGroup assets “on the cheap,” Business Week writes.
Catsimatidis, who has obtained several seats on the company’s board, has made broad assurances that he will save jobs, keep the company in Tulsa and restore the business’ strong philanthropic ways. However, SemGroup executives are working with other potential buyers, and Catsimatidis’ methods are making those efforts more difficult.
What’s more, (SemGroup CEO Terry) Ronan says, Catsimatidis’ grandstanding is scaring off bidders for its pipelines, storage tanks, asphalt-mixing operations, and other businesses, potentially lowering their values. According to Ronan, during the holidays one bidder almost backed out of a deal to buy a SemGroup property over worries about the increasingly public fight between Catsimatidis and management. “Fortunately, we were able to convince them that they should continue,” says Ronan. “But [the fight] certainly has delayed things.”
Catsimatidis is expected to unveil his plan in the coming days.
Don Mecoy
Business Writer
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