New York Times Deal B%k 24 Feb 2012
By Michael J. De La Merced
It appears that Apollo Global Management is being joined by a friend in its effort to buy El Paso’s exploration and production assets: Len Blavatnik.
The Russian-born investor’s holding company, Access Industries, is partnering with Apollo and Riverstone Holdings in what is expected to be a roughly $7 billion transaction, a person briefed on the matter told DealBook on Friday. The deal could be announced as soon as Friday, though talks may still collapse.
Should an agreement be reached, it would mark another feather in Mr. Blavatnik’s deal cap. He fled to the United States from Russia in 1978, eventually graduating from Columbia University and Harvard Business School. (He has also become an American citizen.)