Final offers have been filed for a 50% stake in PD Ports owned by Brookfield Infrastructure, with EQT Infrastructure among a small number of investors that filed bids, sources said.

The Swedish manager is said by the sources to have filed the offer late last month via its core infrastructure equity fund for the stake in the port operator, the third largest in the UK.

EQT is currently marketing a second active core infrastructure fund after closing last September its inaugural core fund at EUR 2.9bn versus a EUR 5bn target.

Pontegadea, an investment holding company primarily owned by Amancio Ortega, the founder of clothes retailer Zara, also filed a final offer, two of the sources said.

La Coruña, Spain-headquartered Pontegadea, which owns stakes in renewables companies and a 20% stake in Dutch car park operator Q-Park, is being advised by Morgan Stanley, according to one of the sources.

The sources said that a third investor also filed an offer, one saying it was the Abu Dhabi Ports Group, which was previously linked to the sale.

Peel Ports, originally thought to be a frontrunner in the process, filed a non-binding offer for 100% of PD Ports, which Brookfield rejected.

Brookfield’s first infrastructure fund, Brookfield Infrastructure Fund I, acquired PD Ports back in 2009 from the defunct Babcock & Brown for a nominal sum.

While Brookfield Infrastructure Fund I retains the 50% currently being marketed, the manager has transferred the other 50% into its listed vehicle, Brookfield Infrastructure Partners.

Brookfield was unsuccessful in 2021 in its attempt to sell the whole of PD Ports, in part due to a legal dispute with the South Tees Development Corporation, a local government body that was also part of a bidding consortium for PD Ports, over access to Teesport, its main asset in the northeast of England.

However, Brookfield Infrastructure’s CEO Sam Pollock last September said that it failed to sell the business in 2021 as “we just didn’t think we saw the value that we should get for that trophy asset”, and as a result the firm decided to hold “onto it for a bit longer”. He added at the time that Brookfield will “probably sell it next year”, meaning in 2025.

There are still differences of opinion over the value of the 50% stake now up for grabs.

Brookfield, which is being advised by CIBC and RBC, is said to be seeking a 20 times EBITDA multiple for the stake in PD. The port operator’s EBITDA was around GBP 90m last year.

The Canadian manager is said to have rejected Peel’s offer as it fell short of its sale price expectations.

PD Ports, which generates several revenue streams including as the statutory harbour authority for the River Tees as well as owning ports and parcels of land, announced plans in April to develop a GBP 200m offshore wind manufacturing and installation hub.

Brookfield, EQT, Pontegadea and Morgan Stanley declined to comment. Abu Dhabi Ports did not respond to a request for comment.