Beauparc Utilities Limited has attracted takeover approaches from dozens of private equity firms after its minority shareholder, The Blackstone Group Inc. (NYSE:BX), set about putting its stake on the market late in 2020, according to sources. The approaches may result in an outright purchase for as much as €1 billion, they said. JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM), originally hired to work on finding a buyer for the Blackstone stake, is understood to have fielded up to 30 expressions of interest from US, UK and European private equity and infrastructure firms for the entire business. It is expected that a deadline will be set in February 2021 for pitches, with a deal possible in the second quarter of the year, according to industry sources. A spokesman for Beauparc and spokeswoman for Blackstone declined to comment, while a spokesman for JP Morgan was not in a position to comment when contacted by The Irish Times.