Exclusive: Ex-BP boss to seal return with $4 billion Iraq buy

LONDON (Reuters) - Tony Hayward, who stepped down as BP <BP.L> boss in the wake of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, will imminently seal his return to the oil industry, by buying into Turkey's Genel Enerji, in a deal valuing the target at around $4 billion, a source close to the matter said on Tuesday.

Vallares, an acquisition vehicle established by Hayward and financier Nat Rothschild, has agreed in principle a tie-up with Genel Enerji, which owns oil fields in the semi-autonomous Kurdish region of Iraq, and will announce the deal in the coming days, the source said.

The deal expected to net Hayward and his Vallares co-founders millions of pounds.

(Reporting by Tom Bergin. Editing by Chris Wickham and Jane Merriman)