Addax to pick buyer soon from 3 on shortlist

LONDON (Reuters) - Top world traders Trafigura and Vitol and a U.S. private equity firm are competing for assets of oil trading firm Addax & Oryx Group, and the results of what is likely to be a sale are due later this week, trading sources said on Wednesday.

Geneva-based Addax & Oryx Group has been looking for a buyer or a partner in its African oil trading and downstream assets since last year.

"An announcement is imminent for the Addax assets sale," one of the sources said.

The shortlisted companies are U.S. private equity firm Emerging Capital Partners and the world's top independent trading houses Vitol VITOLV.UL and Trafigura TRAFGF.UL, the sources said. All three are expanding in Africa.

Emerging Capital Partners may be the strongest candidate, the sources said.

"The fund out of the United States is in a good position. Vitol and Trafigura might have backed off," a second source said.

Addax was not available for comment, while Vitol, Trafigura and Emerging Capital Partners declined to comment.

In 2009, China's Sinopec Group (0386.HK) bought the upstream African assets of Addax Petroleum in a $7.2 billion deal. But the trading and downstream assets were not part of the deal.

In August last year, Addax & Oryx said the group would look for a buyer or a partner to invest in the network, which covers 22 sub-Saharan countries.

The group plans to continue in upstream oil in Africa via its Oryx unit, which was created after the Sinopec deal.

The company started the sale process for its African trading and downstream assets in mid-September. The assets may be worth $250 million to $500 million, sources said last year.

Emerging Capital Partners invests in many African assets. Nigerian oil firm Onando (OANDO.LG) is a part of its portfolio, according to the private equity investor's website.

Vitol and Trafigura have been picking up downstream assets from oil majors such as Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) and Chevron (CVX.N) over the past year.

Trafigura is expanding its oil storage and supply unit, Puma Energy, and plans to float the unit. Puma Energy's Pierre Eladari said in an interview in September it might list within 18 months.

Sources said Socar Trading, the trading unit of Azeri state-run oil and gas firm Socar, was not on the shortlist, although last year it expressed interest in buying the Addax & Oryx assets.

(Additional reporting by Sophie Sassard in London, Emma Farge in Geneva and Joshua Schneyer in New York, editing by Jane Baird)