SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Singapore's Keppel Infrastructure Trust <KEPL.SI> said it has been selected as the preferred bidder for Blackstone Group's <BX.N> sale of Australian chemical firm Ixom Holdco Pty Ltd.
Keppel will complete any final stage due diligence and enter into negotiations to finalise the share sale agreement, it said in a statement late on Monday. The business trust's portfolio includes the producer and retailer of piped town gas in Singapore and waste-to-energy plants.
Keppel did not give financial details, but the Australian Financial Review reported on Monday the potential deal would be worth about A$1 billion ($706 million).
Ixom manufactures and distributes water treatment products and other chemical products.
Blackstone funds purchased the business from Orica Ltd<ORI.AX>, the world's top supplier of commercial explosives, for A$750 million in 2015.
(Reporting by Aradhana Aravindan; additional reporting by Paulina Duran in SYDNEY; editing by Richard Pullin)
