Britain’s BP has agreed to sell a 65% shareholding in lubricants business Castrol for $6 billion, months on from the oil giant seeking a buyer for the unit.
The deal comes as the company looks to launch a strategic reset, including a green strategy U-turn and the divestment of $20 billion of assets by the end of 2027. The sale values Castrol at $10.1 billion.
Energy companies, including India’s Reliance Industries and Saudi Arabia’s oil behemoth Aramco, as well as private equity firms Apollo Global Management and Lone Star Funds, had all been touted as suitors for BP’s Castrol unit in May, according to Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter.
“With this, we have now completed or announced over half of our targeted $20bn divestment programme, with proceeds to significantly strengthen bp’s balance sheet,” interim CEO Carol Howle said in a statement.
“The sale marks an important milestone in the ongoing delivery of our reset strategy. We are reducing complexity, focusing the downstream on our leading integrated businesses, and accelerating delivery of our plan.”
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