US Asset Management Firms Among Bidders for Aramco Pipeline Stake

Apollo Global Management Inc. and Brookfield Asset Management Inc. are among parties that made first-round bids for a potential multibillion-dollar stake in Saudi Aramco’s natural gas pipeline network, according to people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg reported.

BlackRock Inc., EIG Global Energy Partners LLC and Global Infrastructure Partners also submitted non-binding offers for the asset late last week, the people said, asking not to be identified as the matter is private.

Aramco is seeking more than $15 billion for the gas pipeline stake in one of the largest divestments by the energy giant, the people said.

The company will inform suitors whether they made it to the next round of bidding in the coming days, according to the people.

No final decisions have been made and Aramco could still decide to retain the asset, the people said.

Other contenders could also emerge for the stake, with some of the bidders likely to join forces given the size of the asset, the people said.

Aramco’s Master Gas System is a network of pipelines connecting its production with processing sites throughout the kingdom. The infrastructure has a capacity of about 9.6 billion cubic feet of gas per day, according to Aramco’s annual report.