Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Jilted Berry Drops Lawsuit Against Carlyle Group



Shipping media sources referred to Carlyle's abandonment of a $1 billion crude oil shipping facility in Corpus Christi:  (Tradewinds, Lloyd's, Big and Kallanish)


Drops out, quits, dissolves.  The change in language is noticeably different from the announcement in which Carlyle "agreed to lead the construction and ongoing operations of the Terminal on an exclusive basis".

Exclusive turned into a joint venture with The Berry Group, which became a solo deal without Carlyle.  

How many companies drop a lawsuit after failing to reach an amicable separation?  Isn't that the purpose of a lawsuit?  The Berry Group and Lone Star Ports let Carlyle (with its $223 billion in AUM) off the hook..  

It's a move reminiscent of The Carlyle Group's abandonment of nursing home giant ManorCare.  In that case Carlyle handed the company over to debtholders, not a joint venture partner.

It would appear Carlyle foisted its equity stake on Berry.  How many government agencies will trust Carlyle to carry the ball on infrastructure projects going forward?  How many will trust Carlyle as a potential partner?

Update 11-2-19:  Corpus Christi BizNews reported Berry and Carlyle reached a settlement on the lawsuit.