3i Group sells ferry operator Scandlines, buys back stake

(Corrects to read second quarter of 2018, paragraph 2)

LONDON, March 26 (Reuters) - 3i Group Plc has sold ferry operator Scandlines to infrastructure funds First State Investments and Hermes Investment Management and bought back a 35 percent stake, the London-listed private equity group said on Monday.

The deal gives Scandlines an equity value of 1.7 billion euros ($2.11 billion), 3i said in a statement, adding it made net cash proceeds of 347 million euros from the transaction, which it expects to close in the second quarter of 2018.

Scandlines operates ferry routes between Germany and Denmark, with more than 42,000 journeys per year.

It recently completed an 862 million euro infrastructure debt refinancing to reduce its long-term cost of debt.

Rothschild advised 3i and Scandlines on the transaction. Deutsche Bank (IOB: 0H7D.IL - news) and Macquarie Capital acted as financial advisers to First State and Hermes.

($1 = 0.8074 euros) (Reporting by Clara Denina; editing by Jason Neely)