BP sells $10 billion majority stake in Castrol
by Lisa Hornung · UPIDec. 24 (UPI) -- BP is selling its majority stake in Castrol to U.S. investment company Stonepeak in an effort to pay down its debt.
The company is selling its $10 billion, 65% ownership in the lubricants business to the investment firm. It will keep a 35% stake in the business through a joint venture.
The deal is expected to close at the end of 2026, the company said.
BP will use the $6 billion in proceeds to pay down some of its $26 billion in debt, the company said.
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"We concluded a thorough strategic review of Castrol that generated extensive interest and resulted in the sale of a majority interest to Stonepeak," said Interim CEO Carol Howle in a statement. "And with this, we have now completed or announced over half of our targeted $20 billion divestment program, with proceeds to significantly strengthen BP's balance sheet. 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. And we are doing so with increasing intensity - with a continued focus on growing cash flow and returns, and delivering value for our shareholders"
BP announced last week that Meg O'Neill would become CEO of BP in April. Murray Auchincloss stepped down as CEO and board director. Howle is interim CEO until O'Neill takes over.
O'Neill, an American raised in Boulder, Colo., is CEO of Woodside Energy.
Maurizio Carulli, analyst at the investment company Quilter Cheviot, called the Castrol deal "a positive step forward for BP, reinforcing its ongoing strategy reset and the aim to reduce its net debt and refocus its downstream business," The Guardian reported.