Kuwait Petroleum has requested that global investment funds bidding for a $7 billion stake in its oil pipeline network form consortiums to consolidate competing bids, aiming to accommodate smaller investors with close ties to the state energy firm, Reuters reported Thursday, citing sources.
The deal has drawn notable interest across the alternative asset management sector, with Blackstone (BX) also surfacing as a participant for the first time in the current multi-year wave of Middle Eastern national oil company asset sales.
Blackstone joins a group of infrastructure heavyweights advancing to the next round of the competitive sale process, including Brookfield Asset Management (BAM), Apollo Global Management (APO), KKR (KKR), EIG Global Energy Partners, and BlackRock (BLK) alongside its newly integrated infrastructure division, Global Infrastructure Partners.
Except for KKR, who declined to comment, none of the parties involved responded immediately to' request for comments.
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