Marathon Petroleum Files for Midstream IPO

FINDLAY, Ohio -- Marathon Petroleum Corp. (MPC) filed a Form S-1 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for an initial public offering (IPO) of its midstream assets.

Marathon Petroleum's midstream assets, named MPLX LP, was formed by MPC as its primary vehicle to own, operate, develop and acquire crude oil, refined products and other hydrocarbon-based product pipelines and other assets.

If the SEC accepts the registration statement, MPC said it would apply to the New York Stock Exchange to have the midstream company trade under the ticker symbol MPLX.

According to MPC, the number of shares offered and the price range per share of MPLX have not been determined.

MPC's Speedway LLC convenience store division will remain under the parent company's umbrella and be unaffected by the transaction.

MPLX is expected to be a master limited partnership (MLP). To qualify for MLP status, a partnership must generate at least 90 percent of its income from what the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) deems "qualifying" sources. Those qualifying sources include activities related to the production, processing or transportation of oil, natural gas and coal.

UBS Investment Bank and BofA Merrill Lynch are acting as joint book-running managers and structuring agents for the proposed IPO.