Todd Boehly, in partnership with UAE's Allied Investment Partners via Xtellus, is actively pursuing a bid for Lukoil's international assets, valued at approximately $20 billion to $22 billion. This consortium has garnered support from the U.S. government, specifically the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), which is expected to take a mid-teens equity stake, and Gulf investors including Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed al-Nahyan and Qatar’s Al-Khayyat family. Boehly and the DFC are anticipated to control a majority of the new company's board.
This bid directly challenges an earlier agreement made in January between Lukoil and Carlyle, an American investment company, for the sale of these same assets. Carlyle's deal has been stalled for nearly 10 months due to prolonged inter-agency approvals within the U.S. government, involving the National Security Council, State Department, and Department of Energy. The U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has extended a temporary license until October 22, allowing negotiations and conditional agreements for the sale of Lukoil International GmbH and its subsidiaries.
Lukoil's international portfolio is extensive, encompassing oil and gas fields, refineries, and over 2,000 fuel stations globally. Key assets include a 75% stake in Iraq’s West Qurna 2 oilfield, major refining assets in Bulgaria and Romania, and access to over 3 billion barrels of proven and probable reserves. The U.S. government's dual role, both backing Boehly's bid through the DFC and overseeing the regulatory approval process for any sale, creates an unusual and potentially disadvantageous position for Carlyle. Any transaction requires that Lukoil not receive advance payments, with all proceeds to be held in a blocked account under U.S. jurisdiction.
