Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. (NYSE:BIP) and Antin Infrastructure Partners SAS (ENXTPA:ANTIN) are among several bidders vying for a stake in German metering firm Techem GmbH, four people familiar with the matter told Reuters. Partners Group Holding AG (SWX:PGHN) wants to sell its majority stake for as much as EUR 9 billion ($9.50 billion), but offers may be closer to EUR 7 billion, the people said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Management meetings for the dual track process, which could include a sale or IPO, were held last week, they added. Sale documentation will be circulated next month with the aim of collecting bids by the end of the year, one of the people said. A decision on an alternative IPO track will be taken next year once bids have been evaluated, this person added. European companies are confronting IPO risks as macroeconomic conditions worsen, with defence contractor Renk recently pulling its IPO. If the deal goes ahead as planned, it will be one of the largest deals to take place in Germany in recent months. Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. L.P. (NYSE:KKR), Blackstone Inc. (NYSE:BX), Global Infrastructure Management, LLC and Macquarie Group Limited (ASX:MQG) are also looking to bid for Techem, Bloomberg reported last month. Some parties may form consortia to meet the sizeable equity ticket, one of the sources said. Partners, Techem, Brookfield, Antin, KKR, Blackstone, Macquarie and GIP declined to comment.