A BlackRock-managed fund acquired a minority stake in the Saudi Bahrain Pipeline Company (SBPC) from Bahrain’s Bapco Energies, according to a joint statement. The transaction was executed by a fund managed by Blackrock’s Diversified Infrastructure team. Bapco will retain a majority stake in SBPC, the statement said. The story was also picked up by Reuters.

What we don’t know: No information was provided on the exact size of the stake acquired, nor how much the fund paid for it. The transaction represents Bapco’s first asset monetization, the statement notes.

About the pipeline: The AB-4 pipeline was commissioned in 2018 to replace its predecessor which connected Saudi and Bahrain for 73 years from 1945. The 112 km-long pipeline connects Aramco’s Abqaiq plants and Bapco’s refineries in Bahrain, and can transport up to 350k bbl / d of crude.

REMEMBER- Investors led by BlackRock Real Assets and Hassana Investment tapped JPMorgan and Standard Chartered in July ahead of a planned bond sale which aims to refinance a USD 13.4 bn bridge loan used by the consortium to acquire 49% of Aramco Gas Pipeline Company in a 2021 USD 15.5 bn lease-and-leaseback agreement.

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