Investment companies KKR, Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) and Stonepeak Partners jointly made a binding offer for a controlling stake in Deutsche Telekom’s €20 billion tower portfolio, Bloomberg reported.

The reported offer rivals a consortium of Canada’s Brookfield Asset Management and Spain-headquartered Cellnex, which has also launched a bid for a share of the business.

Both sets of companies have been rumoured to be interested in the assets since the operator indicated a earlier this year that a sale is on the cards.

Vodafone Group’s infrastructure subsidiary Vantage Towers is also interested in the deal and could make a bid on its own or with a partner.

Deutsche Telekom reportedly commenced the sales process of its 40,600 mobile masts in March this year, in attempts to maximise the value of its infrastructure assets.

CEO Timotheus Hoettges has also in the past expressed an interest in finding a partner for the tower business, instead of a sale.

Bloomberg added deliberations are ongoing and other bidders may emerge.