Nov 27 (Reuters) - A consortium of investors led by FajrCapital, an investment firm backed by Malaysian state fundKhazanah Nasional, are in talks to buy Dubai-basedoil services firm NPS Energy, three sources aware of the mattersaid.
NPS Energy put itself up for sale again after a deal to bebought by Norway's Aker Solutions fell apart lastyear, Reuters reported in September.
Aside from Dubai-based Fajr, the consortium includesAPICORP, a development bank established by the Organization ofArab Petroleum Exporting Countries and Saudi-Arabia basedinvestment holding company, Zamil Group, the sources said,requesting anonymity as the matter is not public.
A potential sale of NPS Energy could be worth between$500-$700 million, the sources said. HSBC Holdings isrunning the sale process for NPS. The British lender declined tocomment.
NPS Energy's Chief Executive Adnan Ghabris declined tocomment. Spokesmen for Fajr Capital and APICORP in Dubaideclined to comment, while Zamil Group did not immediatelyrespond to a Reuters email seeking comment.
NPS Energy is part of oilfield services company NationalPetroleum Services, which was formed in 2004 from the merger ofoilfield businesses owned by two large family-owned groups inSaudi Arabia and Qatar.
Demand for oilfield services in the Middle East, the world'stop oil producing region, has increased rapidly in the last fewyears.