Peel Ports has dropped out of a sale process for 50% of Brookfield’s stake in PD Ports, sources said.

Peel Ports, advised by Rothschild, filed an offer for all shares in the company, while the seller – which holds its investment via two funds – is looking to offload 50%.

Several infrastructure managers that had been expected to file non-binding offers by a 9 April deadline, including Stonepeak and Igneo Infrastructure Partners, did not do so, according to the sources.

Pontegadea, an investment holding company primarily owned by Amancio Ortega, the founder of clothes retailer Zara, is said to have been recently circling the business.

It has slowly been building up an infrastructure portfolio, snapping up recently, among others, a 20% stake in Dutch car park operator Q-Park from shareholders including KKR and holdings in renewables portfolios in Europe from the likes of Repsol and EDF. It also recently showed interest during the initial phase of the sale of Telefonica and Vodafone Spanish fibre joint venture, but did not file a bid in the end.

Universities Superannuation Scheme, which is known to have strong appetite for a multi-port business in the UK, and EQT Infrastructure had been tracking the PD Ports sale process although it is not clear if they filed offers. EQT Infrastructure typically prefers controlling stakes in business.

Brookfield’s rejection over a week ago of Peel Ports’ bid suggests that it is adamant around only selling a 50% stake.

The Canadian manager, which is being advised by CIBC and RBC, is said to have rejected Peel’s offer as it fell short of its sale price expectations, which is around a 20 times EBITDA multiple.

GIP, APG and AustralianSuper paid a slightly higher multiple back in 2021 for a stake in Peel Ports, when interest rates were much lower than they are today.

PD Ports, whose main asset is Teesport in the northeast of England, was expected to generate EBITDA of around GBP 90m for 2024.

Peel and PD Ports have few overlaps in terms of customers and cargo. But buying PD Ports would offer Peel a foothold in north eastern England and the east coast, while it is currently centred around Liverpool and the Manchester Ship Canal.

Buying a 100% stake in PD and rolling it into its own platform might also enable it to raise more debt, and therefore also potentially cheaper debt.

It is Brookfield’s second attempt at selling a stake, after its previous effort to do so in 2021 falling apart over a dispute 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.

Brookfield, Peel Ports, USS, Stonepeak and Igneo declined to comment. Pontegadea and EQT did not respond to requests for comment.