Blackstone, Brookfield and KKR Use Insurance Capital to Finance Kuwait Pipeline Deal

Wall Street firms Blackstone, Brookfield and KKR used insurance-sector capital to finance a large part of Kuwait’s $16 billion pipeline transaction, a rare funding approach for a Middle Eastern infrastructure deal. The arrangement is tied to Kuwait Petroleum Corporation’s lease-and-leaseback of its crude oil pipeline network, in which the three firms hold a combined 49% stake while Kuwait keeps control. The deal is significant because it shows how major private investment groups are tapping insurance money for long-term infrastructure finance, rather than relying mainly on traditional bank lending.