OMERS, Wren House Infrastructure Management and a second sovereign wealth fund are in talks to buy Direct ChassisLink from Apollo Global Management, according to sources familiar with the situation.

The parties continue to iron out details on the transaction and it remains possible a deal could fall apart.

Canadian pension fund OMERS and Wren House, which invests in infrastructure for the Kuwait Investment Authority, have close links through Philippe Busslinger, who took over as CEO of Wren House in January following 12 years at OMERS’s infrastructure investment arm, including six as the head of the European business.

Last November, this news service reported that Charlotte, North Carolina-based Direct ChassisLink was exploring a sale. A subsequent report this February said that OMERS was part of a consortium pursuing the company in the second round of an auction process.

Apollo acquired an 80% stake in Direct ChassisLink in 2019 from EQT Infrastructure at a reported USD 2.5bn valuation. EQT held on to a minority stake as part of the deal.

The company, which describes itself as the largest provider of chassis in the US, has grown considerably since the 2019 deal and generates around USD 400m in EBITDA.

Ocean and motor carriers and other firms use chassis to transport by truck shipping containers unloaded from ships. Chassis have been in high demand since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic as global shipping volume surged and ports backed up.

Direct Chassislink, Apollo, EQT, OMERS and Wren declined to comment.