Banks Ready $3.75 Billion Debt Sale to Back BP Castrol Buyout

Banks are preparing to sell $3.75 billion in debt to back Stonepeak Partners’ acquisition of a majority stake in BP Plc’s Castrol division, taking advantage of a hot credit market to offload risk long before the deal is expected to close.

Underwriters including BNP Paribas SA, Goldman Sachs Group Inc., UBS Group AG and Wells Fargo & Co. are planning to start selling the debt to institutional investors toward the end of the first quarter or the beginning of the second, according to people familiar with the matter. The debt package is expected to consist of leveraged loans and high yield bonds in euros and dollars, they added, asking not to be identified because the information is private.