Marathon Petroleum Tries to Fend Off Mini-Tender Offer

FINDLAY, Ohio -- Marathon Petroleum Corp. (MPC) is urging its shareholders not to sell any shares to TRC Capital Corp. The parent company of Speedway LLC announced today that TRC Capital seeks to purchase up to 2 million shares of MPC common stock for a price of $41.50 per share.

If shareholders sold their stock to TRC Capital, the investment firm would only possess 0.57 percent of MPC's outstanding shares. However, the sale could definitely lower the price of MPC's stock. At noon today, MPC stock was selling for $43.75 per share.

"MPC does not endorse TRC Capital's tender offer and recommends that shareholders do not tender their shares," the company said in a news release. "MPC is not associated with TRC Capital, this unsolicited tender offer or the documentation related to this offer."

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) refers to attempts to purchase shares -- such as TRC Capital's effort -- as "mini-tender offers."

The SEC cautions investors about making such transactions. "[S]ome bidders make mini-tender offers at below-market prices, hoping they will catch investors off guard if the investors do not compare the offer price to the current market price," the SEC said, according to MPC's news release.

Despite the warnings, if shareholders still want sell shares to TRC Capital, MPC recommends consulting with a financial advisor first.

TRC Capital is based in Toronto and was founded in 1999. It most recently attempted to purchase four million U.S. depositary receipts of Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. However, the offer was withdrawn on Feb. 13, according to Thomson Reuters.