The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority is considering submitting an offer to buy 34% of the shares of Associated British Ports, the largest port operator in Britain.
According to a Bloomberg report, the deal is expected to be worth about two billion pounds ($2.42 billion) or more.
The report quoted people familiar with the matter as saying that Stonepick Partners and British Columbia Investment Management are among the other investors interested in the stake being sold by the Canadian Pension Plans Investment Board.
ABP owns and operates 21 ports in England, Scotland and Wales and handles around a quarter of the UK's sea trade and more than £150 billion of British trade annually.
The Canadian Pension Investment Board bought that stake from Goldman Sachs and Prudential plc in 2015 for £1.6bn.
The deliberations are in their early stages, the report said, adding that other bidders, including existing shareholders, may also emerge.
Associated British Ports, British Columbia Investment Management, Stonebeck, the Canadian Council and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority all declined comment.
