Macquarie Asset Management has shortlisted four potential buyers in the sale process for its India roads portfolio, two sources familiar told Infralogic.

While Mumbai-based fund manager EAAA Alternatives and Vinci Concessions were informed last week that they had moved to the second stage in the auction, Cube Highways and KKR-backed Vertis Infrastructure were told a little later, the sources said.

There may be one or two more bidders, one of the sources said, adding he wasn’t sure.

HSBC is advising Vinci while Cube has not appointed an advisor, both sources said. Sekura’s financial advisor is PwC and Trilegal its legal counsel, they added.

The four potential buyers offered to buy all the nine concessions that Macquarie has put on sale, divided into three packages, the sources said. Initial bids were filed in early October.

Macquarie Asset Management launched the sale in the first week of August this year, with JPMorgan advising, Infralogic reported at the time.

Macquarie won the right to collect user charges for the nine roads in an auction in February 2018, with an INR 96.8bn proposal (USD 1.5bn at the time), beating second-placed Brookfield’s INR 75.1bn bid.

It has since created Safeway Concessions, a branded roads platform, to hold the assets.

All four bidders are seen as strong contenders, the sources said.

Vertis Infrastructure already has about INR 270bn of assets under management while Cube Highways Trust manages INR 365.2bn, according to its latest investor presentation.

Mumbai-based Edelweiss recently raised USD 1.1bn for its second infra fund and has 21 highway assets.

France-headquartered Vinci is a strategic investor and operates a network of more than 3,750km across 14 countries, according to its website.

It has been looking to acquire highway assets in India jointly with Global Infrastructure Partners over the last two years. A deal to jointly acquire a 207km highway concession fell through in January this year.

Other investors that filed initial offers, including Interise Trust, majority-owned by the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments), were not shortlisted as they indicated offers for only a part of the portfolio, the sources added without elaborating.

Macquarie’s India operations represent one of its largest staff bases outside Australia, with over 1,900 employees based across its Mumbai, Gurugram, and Hyderabad offices.

Since 1999, Macquarie has invested over USD 4.2bn in equity capital across Indian businesses, making it one of the largest international investors in Indian toll roads, renewables and digital infrastructure.

Macquarie, HSBC and EAAA Alternatives declined to comment.

Vertis Infrastructure Trust, Vinci Concessions, Cube Highways and Infrastructure, CPP Investments, Trilegal and PwC did not respond to requests for comment.