Kuwait Petroleum Corporation has begun preliminary talks with a slate of global investors over a potential roughly $7 billion sale of a stake in its crude oil pipeline network, according to a Tuesday report.
The state-owned energy company has reportedly entered early-stage discussions with major asset managers and infrastructure investors, including BlackRock (NYSE:BLK), Brookfield Asset Management (NYSE:BAM), EIG Partners and KKR (NYSE:KKR), about the possible transaction.
Other entities said to have expressed interest are China Silk Road Fund, China Merchants Capital, I Squared Capital and Macquarie Infrastructure Partners, the report added.
Sources described the proposed deal structure as consisting of approximately $1.5 billion in equity, with the remainder to be raised as debt financing. No additional terms, timing or final participants were provided in the report.
Several firms named in the report declined to provide comment when contacted. BlackRock, Brookfield, Macquarie, KKR, EIG and I Squared all declined to comment. Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, China Silk Road Fund and China Merchants Capital did not respond to requests for comment.
The information available is limited to the initial, exploratory stage of discussions. The report does not indicate that any binding agreements have been reached, and it does not provide details on valuation beyond the headline $7 billion figure or on the specific pipeline assets involved.
Summary details and context are based solely on the reporting that prompted the disclosures noted above. The transaction, as described in the report, would be a mix of equity and debt financing, and the list of interested parties spans global asset managers, infrastructure specialists and Chinese investment vehicles.