(Bloomberg) -- An Elliott Investment Management affiliate emerged as the leading bidder in an auction for Citgo Petroleum Corp.’s parent company with a bid for $7.28 billion, allowing it to acquire an oil refiner that was once Venezuela’s largest foreign asset.

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The affiliate, Amber Energy Inc., submitted the best bid for Citgo’s US parent, PDV Holding, Robert Pincus, the court-appointed special master who oversaw the process, said in a filing Friday. The sale is intended to satisfy Venezuela creditors holding more than $20 billion in claims.

The group won out over other bidders interested in wresting control of Citgo from Petroleos de Venezuela SA, Venezuela’s state-owned oil company. The interim recommendation from Pincus is subject to a final decision by him and court approval.

After Pincus submits his final recommendation, other bidders have the option to top Elliott’s bid during a 45-day period, according to the filing. Elliott has a right to terminate the agreement if the special master’s motion to block other creditors trying to attach the asset through different courts is denied.

The Citgo sale closes a chapter on Venezuela’s move more than 20 years ago to nationalize foreign businesses operating in the country. Crystallex International Corp., a defunct Canadian miner whose rights to the Las Cristinas gold field were seized by former President Hugo Chávez, is first in line for a slice of the auction’s proceeds.

Other companies seeking to collect from the sale include Siemens AG, ConocoPhillips and Exxon Mobil Corp.

Citgo processes more than 800,000 barrels of oil each day and is the seventh-largest US refiner behind Marathon Petroleum Corp. in the top spot.

US Judge Leonard Stark in Wilmington, Delaware, must sign off on what ultimately emerges as the highest bid. The US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control must then also approve the sale, as Citgo is protected by US sanctions.

(Updates with background on case.)

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