BlackRock-led investors in Aramco Gas Pipelines have hired banks ahead of a planned bond sale, Reuters reported yesterday, citing a bank document that it has seen. They hired JPMorgan and Standard Chartered to arrange investor meetings, which began yesterday, for the sale aimed at refinancing a loan used for their stake purchase in Aramco’s gas pipelines network.

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IN CONTEXT- A consortium led by Blackrock and Hassana — the investment management arm of the General Organization for Social Ins. — acquired in 2021 a 49% stake in Aramco Gas Pipelines through a USD 15.5 bn lease-and-leaseback agreement. To finance this acquisition, they initially took a bridge loan totaling USD 13.4 bn. The issuance of amortizing bonds by the consortium would serve as a long-term method to refinance the bridge loan.

What’s next: A sale of 12- and 18-year USD-denominated amortizing bonds will take place, subject to market conditions, after banks wrap up investor meetings, one of the documents showed. The bond tranches have weighted average lives of 10 and 14.5 years.

A familiar process: In February 2023, Greensaif Pipelines Bidco, which is 77.2% owned by BlackRock and its affiliates and 22.8% owned by Hassana, raised USD 4.5 bn by selling amortizing bonds to refinance the loan.

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