TEXAS: Kinetik Holdings Inc, an energy pipeline company partly owned by Blackstone Inc, is in the early stages of exploring options, including a sale, according to people familiar with the matter.
Kinetik is working with advisers to prepare for a potential sale process that could get underway within weeks, said the people, who asked to not be identified because the details are private.
No final decision has been made and Kinetik could opt to remain independent, the people added.
Kinetik closed down 0.8% to US$54.55 in New York trading Wednesday, giving the company a market value of about US$8.9bil.
The stock has gained about 30% in the past year.
Representatives for Kinetik and Blackstone declined to comment.
The company comes to market following a run up in commodity prices amid the wars in Ukraine and Iran, which has spurred a pickup in oil and gas dealmaking.
Other recent pipeline transactions include Oneok Inc’s US$4.4bil acquisition of some Brazos Midstream assets and Williams Cos’ US$5.5bil acquisition of Momentum Midstream.
Kinetik controls a large network of gas gathering and processing infrastructure in the Permian Basin of West Texas and New Mexico, the most productive oil field in the United States, according to its website.
It also has crude oil and water-gathering assets.
It traces its roots to a pipeline company called EagleClaw Midstream, which Blackstone agreed to buy in 2017 before merging it with Altus Midstream, another pipeline operator, a few years later.
Blackstone is the largest shareholder in Texas-based Kinetik with about 15% of the company’s Class A common shares as of mid-year, according to Bloomberg.
Blackstone also owned 70% of the company’s Class C shares, giving it close to half of the shareholder voting power, according to a filing in May.
The Financial Times reported in February that Kinetik was preparing to weigh a sale after an approach from Western Midstream Partners. — Bloomberg
