Global investment firm KKR KKR.N has acquired a minority stake in the entity that leases Abu Dhabi National Oil Company’s gas pipeline assets, it said on Wednesday, without disclosing financial details.
KKR is acquiring the minority stake in ADNOC Gas Pipeline Assets through its managed accounts, matching the type and tenure of the investment with long-duration capital, according to a company statement.
The transaction follows KKR’s 2019 investment in ADNOC’s oil pipeline network, a first for a foreign asset manager in Gulf energy infrastructure.
Together with BlackRock, KKR divested the holding last year, transferring it to Abu Dhabi-based Lunate.
ADNOC retains ownership and operational management of the pipelines.
The United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain have sought such partnerships to tap new pools of foreign institutional capital, while maintaining operational control over critical infrastructure.
Saudi Aramco in August signed an $11bn lease and leaseback agreement involving its Jafurah gas processing facilities with a consortium led by Global Infrastructure Partners, part of BlackRock. Last month, Kuwait’s national oil company said it was seeking to revive a project to lease out and then lease back its crude oil pipelines.
KKR, which manages over $90bn in infrastructure assets globally, appointed General David Petraeus as its Middle East chairman earlier this year as part of efforts to grow its regional business and team.
The company acquired a stake earlier this year in Dubai-based Gulf Data Hub, one of the biggest data centre companies in the region, with KKR and the company committing to support over $5bn of total investment to build out data centre capacity.
