The number of bidders for Dutch-based European parking garages operator Q-Park has been whittled down to five, the Financieele Dagblad said on Monday.

Originally more than 20 parties were interested in acquiring the company which operates 6,100 car parks with more than 835,000 parking spaces in 10 northern European countries. Bids in excess of €2bn are expected for Q-Park which offers a steady and reliable source of income.

The €2bn price tag includes net debt of €1.15bn. Analysts say Q-Park is an attractive investment in that it owns most of its parking garages and is not dependent upon leases.

The FD revealed that the five companies interested in the second round of bidding included Chinese conglomerate China Oceanwide, Australian infrastructure investor Macquarie and an infrastructure fund of US investment group KKR. Another Asian investor and a property group are the other interested parties.

Q-Park is now owned by a group of 25 shareholders including co-founder Ward Vleugels, who built up the company in the 1990s. Others include pension funds and insurers such as Achmea and Delta Lloyd.