"Elliott Investment Management is in talks to buy a stake in a package of infrastructure assets, including a pipeline that carries Russian natural gas to Europe -- a deal that could form a template for reviving Moscow's once-mighty energy business by involving American investors.
The U.S. hedge fund, headed by billionaire founder Paul Singer, is considering a stake in the Bulgarian extension of the TurkStream pipeline, along with access to a network of data centers, data cables and other infrastructure assets, according to people familiar with the matter.
Elliott recently signed a nondisclosure agreement with Bulgartransgaz, Bulgaria's state-owned gas transmission operator, the people said.
The move follows a meeting in Sofia last month between Elliott representatives and senior Bulgarian government officials. Other than investing in the company's infrastructure network, Elliott is also considering a deal to refinance the company's debt.
The talks are in their initial phase, with no guarantee of a deal being finalized, the people said. The potential size of the investment wasn't clear.
The TurkStream pipeline is Russia's last operational gas conduit to Europe after its larger links were severed or shut down following events in Ukraine. TurkStream traverses the Black Sea to Turkey before feeding pipelines supplying Hungary, Slovakia, and other nations.
Russia was until 2022 Europe's biggest oil-and-gas supplier. In recent months, the Trump administration has put economic dealmaking at the heart of its overtures toward Moscow over peace in Ukraine, raising the possibility that Russia could reknit its energy network into the West, with American support.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said in March that if the U.S. and Russia reach an agreement on energy, Europe will get cheap Russian gas. Nord Stream -- a pipeline system linking Russia and Germany that was sabotaged in 2022 -- is of particular interest to Moscow. Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said earlier this year that Washington and Moscow were discussing reviving it.
A U.S. fund investing in a pipeline carrying Russian gas could help entrench Moscow's fuel supply even as European leaders try to wean themselves off the vestiges of its Russian energy supply.
"The deal could be a possible blueprint for similar deals in Ukraine and in Germany," said Martin Vladimirov, energy expert at the Sofia-based Center for the Study of Democracy who has studied Russia's influence in Europe. "It could help perpetuate Europe's dependence on Russian gas."
Moscow supplies around 19% of Europe's gas imports via the TurkStream pipeline and liquefied-natural gas shipments, down from around 45% before the 2022 invasion.
Earlier this month, the European Commission unveiled a strategy to end the EU's imports of Russian gas by 2027. Slovakia and Hungary, which continue to rely on the Russian fuel, rejected the plan. For this and other reasons, Elliott isn't interested in investing solely in the pipeline but rather in a broader deal that includes a package of infrastructure assets, some of the people said.
Officials in the Balkan country of 6.5 million hope that an investment by a major U.S. fund would improve their standing with the Trump administration, people familiar with their thinking said. They also calculate that the involvement of a U.S. fund would insulate the pipeline from future sanctions that target Russian energy and that it could help expansion plans.
Bulgaria, a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the European Union, often balances pro-Russian sentiments rooted in historical ties with anti-Russian policies driven by its Western alignment.
Russian gas flows also compete with U.S. liquefied-natural gas shipments to Europe, which have expanded fast since the war. A White House representative said the administration doesn't "comment on the investment decisions of private companies, but we are happy to continue exporting U.S. LNG to friendly European markets."
Elliott, one of Wall Street's most influential investors, manages more than $70 billion in assets. It is known for taking big stakes in companies, including SoftBank, Honeywell and Starbucks, and publicly agitating for change to boost value.
It waged a more-than-decade-long, highly profitable battle with Argentina over that country's defaulted debt.
Singer, Elliott's founder, is a prominent supporter of Republican Party candidates and donated a total of $7.5 million to the Make America Great Again and Preserve America political-action committees.
A Bulgarian pipeline deal would be potentially lucrative for Elliott. Bulgaria receives some $350 million annually from Russia for shipping its gas through the pipeline network." [1]
1. EXCHANGE --- Elliott Weighs Investment in Pipeline Carrying Russia Natural Gas to Europe. Kantchev, Georgi; Dummett, Ben. Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 10 May 2025: B9.
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