EQT Infrastructure is considering the next steps for its Scandinavian ferry operator Nordic Ferry Infrastructure (NFI) after it received initial offers from several infrastructure investors.

BlackRock’s Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) and JP Morgan Asset Management (JPMAM) were among the bidders who submitted non-binding offers (NBOs) for the Norwegian and Danish ferry operator, sources said.

A Swedish-based bidding consortium also filed an initial offer, sources said, while this news service reported last month that OMERS and GLIL had filed NBOs.

Meanwhile, other bidders that did not submit NBOs, including Allianz, have been circling the process with a view to potentially joining consortiums, sources said.

Several sources said that bids fell short of the seller’s expectations in the region of EUR 4bn, or that some bidders tabled offers to buy only part of the business, including OMERS and GLIL, which one source said had offered to buy 25%.

EQT has been considering options, including asking bidders for final offers or entering into bilateral talks with one bidder, sources said.

EQT launched the sale of NFI, which it created from the combination of Norwegian ferry company Torghatten and its Danish peer Molslinjen, in late September, with Deutsche Bank advising on the process.

The combined business reported EBITDA of NOK 2.73bn (EUR 233m) in 2024, a year-on-year increase of 15%.

NFI’s Molslinjen enjoys a dominant position connecting Denmark’s many islands, while Torghatten in Norway is one of the four main players that compete for multi-year tenders to operate ferry routes along Norway’s fjords.

NFI is also active in Sweden, albeit on a much smaller scale, following Molslinjen’s 2022 acquisition of ForSea, operator of a route between Elsinore in Denmark and Helsingborg in Sweden, from Igneo Infrastructure Partners.

GIP is a major transport investor, having invested in businesses including London Gatwick Airport and Peel Ports in the UK and the Italian high speed rail group Italo, but does not have any ferry companies.

JPMAM rather than bidding for NFI through its infrastructure arm, is targeting NFI through a transport fund, two sources said.

EQT, OMERS, GIP, Allianz, GLIL and JPMAM declined to comment.