Blackstone makes offers for two petrol station companies
PRIVATE equity firm Blackstone has tabled bids for the UK petrol businesses of Total and Murphy Oil Corporation, it was reported yesterday, after the firm’s attempts to buy power producer Dynergy were blocked by shareholders.
Blackstone is in talks to buy the forecourt operations of French energy group Total and Murphy subsidiary Murco Petroleum, according to Sky News.
Blackstone would own more than 1,200 UK petrol stations if both deals go through, though a source familiar with the sales said there are other bidders for both firms and Blackstone’s success is not guaranteed.
Goldman Sachs is overseeing the auction of Murco’s UK downstream assets, while JP Morgan is handling the Total auction.
A spokesperson for Blackstone did not return calls for comment.
A Total spokesperson declined to comment on the story, but said: “Total announced on 8 September that it was reviewing its UK assets with a view to selling them as a going concern. As part of that process we have been discussing the potential acquisition of these assets with a number of parties.”
Blackstone’s $4.7bn (£2.98bn) bid for Dynergy fell through on Tuesday ending months of talks, after Dynergy shareholders voted down the plan.