TPG buys pipeline, bakery

TPG Capital bought an equity interest in a pipeline in Minnesota as well as several other oil and gas-related assets for $900 million, the Texas-based private equity firm said today.

TPG did not disclose the size of the equity interest in the Minnesota Pipe Line, which it purchased from a subsidiary of the Marathon Oil Corporation.

TPG: moving crude and baking goods

The pipeline supplies the majority of the crude oil for the 74,000 barrel/day St. Paul Park refinery in Minnesota, which is also being purchased by TPG. The deal also includes with a portfolio of convenience stores, franchising operations and the SuperMom's bakery, TPG said.

Together, the assets will be bundled into a new company called Northern Tier Energy, which will be jointly owned by TPG and Washington DC-based private equity firm ACON Investments. TPG and ACON will be “equal partners” in the investment, TPG said.

Northern Tier Energy will look to acquire “additional refining and marketing assets” in the future, TPG said in the statement.

The deal marks TPG’s second energy investment in the last three months. In late July, the firm purchased $300 million of preferred equity in Copano Energy, a publicly traded natural gas pipeline and processing business.

TPG’s latest fund, TPG Partners VI, closed on $19 billion in 2008.

The Northern Tier Energy deal is expected to close before the end of the year, TPG said.