Shell, Phillips 66 weigh sale of stakes in $3.5 billion US pipeline Explorer, sources say

Investment bankers at Greenhill, a Mizuho affiliate, and RBC Capital Markets have been retained to run an auction process for the stakes, with deliberations currently at an early stage.

Energy Transfer and MPLX own the rest of Explorer. While prospective buyers are initially being sounded out on the Shell and Phillips 66 pieces, the other stakeholders could ultimately contribute their holdings if strong interest is shown in acquiring the whole pipeline, the sources said.

The sources cautioned there was no guarantee of any deal involving the Explorer stakes, and spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private negotiations.

Shell, Phillips 66, and MPLX declined comment. Explorer, Energy Transfer, Mizuho and RBC did not respond to comment requests.