A mix of infrastructure investors are into the second round of the sale of a majority stake in UK metering business Calisen, sources said.

CKI, which is taking a growing interest in European opportunities as it also considers a listing in the UK, is one of a small number that have been shortlisted, according to the sources.

TPG, which alongside GIC is in exclusive talks to buy a majority stake in German metering giant Techem, is also said by the sources to be through to the final round, ahead of binding offers due in August.

Blackstone – which considered bidding for Techem but did not in the end file an offer for the company – has also been shortlisted in the sale of a 67% in Calisen by BlackRock, Goldman Sachs Infrastructure Partners and Mubadala Investments, the sources added.

The stake is expected to fetch an equity price of just under EUR 3bn, while Calisen’s EBITDA is forecast to hit EUR 350m by the end of this year.

Top initial offers for Techem valued the business at around EUR 6bn, close to 12 times its latest EBITDA of EUR 520m.

CKI has a majority stake in German metering business ista, which has key operations in Germany, France, Denmark and the Netherlands.

One source said that while Calisen poses sterling currency risk for overseas investors it also offers opportunities for “cross-border consolidation”, a reference to a possible merger of some kind with ista.

The same source described Calisen as having “super stable” revenues from its core metering business, while it forecasts growth in adjacent sectors.

Calisen recently bought Environmental Energies Limited, which installs and manages renewable energy infrastructure, primarily solar and battery systems, which it plans to merge with its electric vehicle charging point installation business, Plug Me In.

KKR recently agreed a take-private of smart meter business SMS at an EV/adjusted EBITDA multiple of around 20 times, although the multiple is set to fall to around 10 times on a forward-looking basis.

BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, TPG and Blackstone declined to comment. TPG and Mubadala did not respond to requests for comment.