A group of investors led by BlackRock is preparing to sell bonds to refinance a loan backing their stake purchase in Saudi Aramco’s gas pipeline network.
This move follows their acquisition of a 49% stake in Aramco Gas Pipelines Co. in 2021 through a $15.5 billion lease-and-leaseback agreement, Reuters reports.
The group plans to issue amortizing bonds to refinance the remaining $13.4 billion bridge loan from the deal.
The debt issuer, Greensaif Pipelines Bidco, which is indirectly owned by BlackRock and Hassana Investment Co., has hired JPMorgan and Standard Chartered to arrange investor meetings starting Tuesday.
According to a bank document cited by Reuters, the sale will include 12- and 18-year U.S. dollar-denominated amortizing bonds, subject to market conditions. The tranches have weighted average lives of 10 and 14.5 years, respectively.
In February of the previous year, Greensaif raised $4.5 billion by selling amortizing bonds.
BlackRock and its affiliates own 77.2% of Greensaif, while the remaining stake belongs to Hassana, the investment arm of Saudi Arabia’s General Organization of Social Insurance.
A similar transaction in 2021 saw Aramco sell a 49% stake in its oil pipelines network to a consortium led by U.S.-based EIG Global Energy Partners for $12.4 billion.
