Two consortia are biding for the Swedish electricity grid of Finnish utility Fortum, ahead of the deadline (11 March 2015).

The two teams are the following:

• The Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS), Borealis, and a group of Swedish pension funds.
• Goldman Sachs Group Inc.'s infrastructure arm, 3i Group 's infrastructure arm and sovereign wealth funds

According to sources, Macquarie Group Ltd., and and Hong Kong-based CKI, had previously showed interest in the asset but they left the bidding process in early February.

The preferred bidder is expected to be announced on 31 March 2015, during Fortum's annual shareholders' meeting.

The transaction, which could be one of the biggest utility deals in 2015, is valued at about €6 billion (US$6.5 billion). Fortum has plans to use the funds to cut debt and focus on power generation and renewable energy.

In December 2013 the firm previously sold its distribution business in Finland to a group of investors led by First State Investments and Borealis Infrastructure for €2.55 billion (US$2.76 million).