EQT's Koole Terminals draws buyer interest - report

Interested parties have submitted offers to buy Dutch oil storage firm Koole Terminals, valuing the business, owned by Swedish private equity firm EQT, at more than EUR 1 billion (USD 1.1bn), Reuters reported Monday, citing sources in the know.

EQT, which is advised by Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) on the selling process, received more than 10 preliminary offers, primarily from infrastructure investors, and will select several suitors to make final bids.

A consortium of Canadian pension fund OTPP and Wren House Infrastructure is understood to be among the bidding parties, along with Borealis Infrastructure and First State Investments.

Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS), JP Morgan (NYSE:JPM) and Macquarie (ASX:MQG) are also competing for Koole Terminals via their infrastructure units. Private equity firms like ArcLight Capital are in the running, too, the insiders said.

All the parties involved declined to comment when contacted by the news agency.

Koole has been part of EQT since 2011. The oil storage firm is expected to generate earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of between EUR 80 million and EUR 90 million in 2015, with EQT said to aim at 14-15 times the company's EBITDA in a potential deal.

(EUR 1.0 = USD 1.119)

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