Carlyle buying stake in Cepsa for at least $3.6 billion

The Carlyle Group has agreed to buy a significant minority share in the Spanish oil company Cepsa from Mubadala Investment company.

Mubadala said on Monday that The Carlyle Group would acquire 30-40% stake in Compañía Española de Petróleos, Europe’s largest privately-owned integrated oil & gas company.

The acquisition is based on an enterprise value of Cepsa of $12 billion. The Financial Times (paywall) has reported that the global investment firm based in Washington would pay $3.6 billion for a 30 percent share, with an option increase the ownership to 40 percent.

The transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals and is expected to close by end 2019. Mubadala will remain the majority shareholder of Cepsa.

Marcel Van Poecke, Head of Carlyle International Energy Partners, said: “We are delighted to partner with Mubadala and Cepsa’s management team through our commitment to invest in Cepsa which offers such strong potential and future opportunities in the global energy sector.

“We look forward to building upon Cepsa’s growth path for the benefit of their customers, suppliers, and employees. Our team has an established track record with a combination of energy sector, financial and operational capabilities as well as experience across the energy value chain from upstream through downstream, refining and marketing.”

Cepsa operates in more than 20 countries and its assets include significant reserves contained in both the Umm Lulu and SARB fields located offshore Abu Dhabi. Cepsa is also a significant oil producer in Algeria and operates in Central and South America and South East Asia.