Martin Midstream Partners LP (MMLP) has decided to discontinue its plans to merge with Martin Resource Management Corp. following shareholder opposition, the company said Dec. 26.

Martin Resource Management would have acquired all outstanding common units of Martin Midstream Partners as part of the proposed $132 million deal. The planned merger, first announced Oct. 3, was terminated by mutual written consent from both parties. The dissolution of the deal was approved by the conflicts committee of general partner Martin Midstream GP LLC’s board of directors.

Martin Midstream Partners will continue operating as a standalone publicly traded company.

The merger had faced pushback from certain unitholding entities. Nut Tree Capital Management and Caspian Capital sent a letter to unitholders in December arguing that the merger undervalued Martin Midstream. The proposed deal valued MMLP at $4.02 per common unit.

In response, proxy advisory firm Glass Lewis argued that shareholders should approve the deal, calling it an “attractive exit valuation.”

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“We appreciate the feedback we have received from unitholders during our extensive outreach and engagement over the last several weeks,” said Robert Bondurant, president and CEO of Martin Midstream Partners, in the announcement of the deal’s termination. “We greatly value unitholders’ perspectives and are pleased that unitholders have confidence in the future of MMLP as a standalone company. We will continue to focus on executing our long-term strategy, including strengthening the balance sheet through debt reduction and improving operating results, to create value for unitholders.”

A special meeting of unitholders scheduled for Dec. 30 has been cancelled. The proposals posed by MMLP’s definitive proxy statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Nov. 27 have been withdrawn from consideration.

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