Keppel said to near deal for Blackstone-owned chemical firm Ixom

(Oct 15): Keppel Infrastructure Trust is nearing an agreement to acquire Ixom, an Australian chemical company controlled by Blackstone Group LP, people with knowledge of the matter said.

A deal may be announced in the coming weeks, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private. A sale of Ixom could fetch more than US$1 billion (41.38 billion), people familiar with the matter said in August.

Acquiring Ixom would help Keppel Infrastructure, led by recently appointed Chief Executive Officer Matthew Pollard, to widen its exposure beyond Singapore. Its portfolio mostly comprises investments based in the city-state, although it also owns Australian electricity and telecom firm Basslink, which it acquired when it merged with CitySpring Infrastructure Trust in 2014.

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