Activist investor Elliott Investment Management on Friday was named the presumptive winner in a U.S. court auction of shares in a parent of oil refiner Citgo Petroleum with a bid that puts an up to $7.

Activist investor Elliott Investment Management won the U.S. court auction for shares in Citgo Petroleum's parent company, PDV Holding, valuing it at $7.286 billion. The auction aims to repay claims against Venezuela and state oil firm PDVSA.

An Elliott Investment Management affiliate won an auction for Citgo Petroleum Corp.’s parent company with a bid for $7.3 billion, clearing a key hurdle in the fund’s push to acquire an oil refiner that was once Venezuela’s largest foreign asset.