A string of UK and international asset managers are circling the renewable energy-focused investment manager Bluefield Partners and its listed and private funds ahead of the looming bid deadline, according to three sources familiar with the situation.

The potential bidders that have been evaluating offers for the merged platform include Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS), Gresham House, Icon Infrastructure, Octopus Group and I Squared Capital, the sources said.

The non-binding offers were due at the end of January, they said, while one of them noted that this deadline is likely to be extended by another week given the wide interest the sale has generated.

Bluefield recently announced a formal sale process for its London-listed Bluefield Solar Income Fund (BSIF).

Rothschild & Co and Deutsche Numis are acting as joint financial advisers on the sale of BSIF, according to the announcement. Rothschild is also advising on the sale of its manager Bluefield Partners, the sources said.

Bluefield, I Squared Capital, USS and Rothschild declined to comment while Gresham House, Icon Infrastructure, Octopus and Deutsche did not respond to queries.

Bluefield Partners is the investment unit of Bluefield Group, which had assets under management (AUM) of EUR 2.3bn with more than 1.2 GW renewables assets across the UK and Europe at the beginning of last year. Other units of the group include the renewables services, operation, and development arms.

Bluefield Partners’ shareholders include founders and managing partners James Armstrong and Giovanni Terranova.

A potential transaction follows an attempt by BSIF to sell its assets in 2024, selecting a preferred bidder who ultimately “decided not to move to a binding offer.”

Bluefield Partners, the investment adviser and manager of BSIF, has not explicitly said Bluefield Partners is up for sale but in November last year hinted at a wider sale than the one in 2024, noting that the previous process was “limited in scope.”

BSIF said in its 2024 annual report that it discovered that the whole Bluefield enterprise is “worth more than the sum of its parts.”

BSIF’s shares have, like those of other listed energy and infrastructure funds, been for years trading at a discount to the NAV.

The potential sale of Bluefield comes amid a wave of infrastructure-focused asset managers being taken over by bigger groups, such as the sale of SUSI Partners to Gresham House last year in September.

Among other such transactions, the management of Foresight Group is also exploring a potential sale that could see the business taken private, and Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) has been in talks to acquire a stake in renewables investment manager NextEnergy Capital.