EagleClaw Midstream Ventures LLC, the largest privately held operator of pipelines and processing facilities in West Texas' Delaware Basin, said it agreed to be bought by funds managed by Blackstone Group LP for about $2 billion.
Private-equity funds, including Blackstone, Carlyle Group , and CVC Partners, have built up significant firepower in recent years to invest in the
oil and gas industry, where asset prices have dipped sharply since crude oil prices collapsed mid-2014.
Blackstone said in August it would invest about $1.5 billion in the oil-rich Permian basin.
EagleClaw Midstream Ventures LLC said on Monday the all-cash deal includes about $1.25 billion in debt, financed by Jefferies LLC.
Midland, Texas-based EagleClaw's assets include over 375 miles of
natural gas pipelines and 320 million cubic feet per day of processing capacity.
Jefferies LLC is the financial adviser to EagleClaw, while
Morgan Stanley (MS) and Intrepid Partners LLC advised Blackstone.
(Reporting by Arathy S Nair and Muvija M; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)