3i Infrastructure has launched the sale of TCR, in what is expected to be one of the most competitive infrastructure M&A processes of next year globally, sources said.

The roll-call of infrastructure managers preparing to bid, which includes big guns such as KKR, Antin, GIP and EQT as well as a host of mid-market GPs, is betting on the global growth of demand for mission-critical airport ground support equipment (GSE), of which TCR is a world leader.

KKR is being advised on the buyside by RBC, while Antin is working with Rothschild and EQT – as reported – is being advised by Macquarie Capital, sources said.

The company, NBOs for which are due on 15 December, is expected to fetch an enterprise value of in excess of EUR 2.5bn based on its 2025 run rate EBITDA of EUR 170m, sources added.

3i Infrastructure, which is being advised on the process by Deutsche Bank, is looking for a multiple of roughly 15 times, around the amount paid recently by IFM for European GSE specialist AirRail.

This equates to an equity price of over EUR 1.5bn based on its net debt of EUR 904m as of June 2025, equivalent to a 5.2 times debt-to-EBITDA ratio, according to a sale teaser.

3i Infrastructure paid EUR 204m for a 50% stake back in 2016; and then bought a further 50% from DWS Infrastructure in 2022 for EUR 394m. Today, it currently owns 70% and manages the rest on behalf of third parties.

Mubadala is looking for a minority stake in TCR, alongside a manager that would take a controlling position, the sources said.

Canada’s British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCI) is also considering making an offer for TCR and has joined forces with Vauban Infrastructure Partners, according to the sources.

Other bidders said to be running the rule over the company, which leases so-called mission-critical ground support equipment to ground-handlers, airlines and airports in 24 countries worldwide, include USS, Brookfield, BlackRock’s GIP and Blackstone-backed airport operator Mundys, the sources said. Emirates Group’s ground handling company, dnata, is also considering a bid, according to sources.

TCR’s EBITDA has grown 2.7 times over the past decade since 3i first invested in the company, which leases everything from de-icing trucks to runway sweepers, cart dollies and ground power units.

TCR’s revenues have risen by 140% in the last seven years, from EUR 172m in 2018 to EUR 413m this year, while its EBITDA margins for almost the past decade have remained at 39%. TCR operates some 44,000 assets and around 100 workshops worldwide.

TCR is far and away the largest GSE player globally, while CVC DIF’s HiSERV is the second largest, with annual revenues of a little under EUR 200m. Its other competitors include Basalt’s Fortbrand, IFM’s AirRail and also Rushlift, which is backed by material handlings specialist, Doosan Industrial Vehicle UK.

Bidders will gamble on expected organic growth on the back of rising air traffic with its existing customers, as well as in the United States and Asia, which at present is around 20% of its revenues. 

TCR has agreed a deal to supply an all-electric fleet of GSE for the new Terminal One at John F. Kennedy International Airport that is due to open next year.

But sources said TCR has found its push outside Europe to have been slower than expected. 3i said when it acquired the business, its strategy was “to support TCR not only in its growth in Europe, but also to expand further internationally”, a reference that sources said was particularly linked to the United States and Asia, Australia and New Zealand.

One potential synergy for GIP is TCR’s presence in Malaysia. GIP as part of a consortium this year bought an 84% stake in the listed Malaysia Airports Holdings, which operates 39 airports across the country, including Kuala Lumpur International Airport, as well as Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen International Airport in Turkey.

Around three-quarters of TCR’s customers are ground handlers, including Menzies Aviation and Swissport, while some 20% are airlines, including British Airways and Iberia. The remaining 5% are airports including Heathrow, Schiphol and London Luton Airport.

In its half-year report for 2025, published earlier this week, 3i said that TCR, its largest investment, “outperformed expectations in the period, driven by its continued growth into new markets,” and highlight the recent expansion in North America.

3i, Antin, Deutsche Bank, Brookfield, USS, Mubadala, KKR, EQT and BlackRock’s GIP declined to comment. RBC, Vauban, Rothschild and Mundys did not respond to requests for comment.