Malaysia-backed firm eyes Dubai oil services firm NPS -sources

Nov 27 (Reuters) - A consortium of investors led by Fajr Capital (Other OTC: CGHC - news) , an investment firm backed by Malaysian state fund Khazanah Nasional, are in talks to buy Dubai-based oil services firm NPS Energy, three sources aware of the matter said.

NPS Energy put itself up for sale again after a deal to be bought by Norway's Aker Solutions (Other OTC: AKKVF - news) fell apart last year, Reuters reported in September.

Aside from Dubai-based Fajr, the consortium includes APICORP, a development bank established by the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries and Saudi-Arabia based investment 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 (HKSE: 0005.HK - news) is running the sale process for NPS. The British lender declined to comment.

NPS Energy's Chief Executive Adnan Ghabris declined to comment. Spokesmen for Fajr Capital and APICORP in Dubai declined to comment, while Zamil Group did not immediately respond to a Reuters email seeking comment.

NPS Energy is part of oilfield services company National Petroleum Services, which was formed in 2004 from the merger of oilfield businesses owned by two large family-owned groups in Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

Demand for oilfield services in the Middle East, the world's top oil producing region, has increased rapidly in the last few years.