Teekay has approved a repurchase program to buy back $100 million of Teekay LNG common units in the open market or privately-negotiated transactions.

The partnership added that the proposal to allow Teekay LNG to elect to be treated as a corporation, instead of a partnership, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, was approved by unitholders.

As a result, effective January 1, 2019, Teekay LNG will be treated as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes.

Teekay LNG will remain a master limited partnership, and all other provisions of the Partnership’s limited partnership agreement remain in effect.

Speaking of the decision Mark Kremin, president and CEO of Teekay Gas Group said, “We believe that Teekay LNG’s common units represent compelling value and repurchasing them is currently the best investment we can make as the unit price does not fully reflect the underlying value of our business.”

This repurchase program will enable the partnership to return some of the additional capital generated from the current strong LNG carrier market and early newbuilding deliveries, Kremin said.