THE PD group is expected to be sold within the next few weeks.

The Teesside operation has been put up for sale by its Japanese owner Nikko Principal Investments through investment bank NM Rothschild.

The group - PD Ports, Logistics and Shipping - is being courted by stockbroker Collins Stewart, which was responsible for floating Northumbrian Water and holiday group CenterParcs on the Alternative Investment Market.

The company is keen to carry out a similar listing if it succeeds with a deal for the company estimated to be worth between £450m and £500m.

The former Powell Duffryn operation, which includes Tees Port, Britain's second biggest port by volume, has become an attractive target thanks to a new management structure turning the company around in recent years.

Nikko acquired Powell Duffryn in December 2000 for £507m. It divided the company's engineering and ports activities, selling the former.

It securitised the ports division in April 2001, raising £305m. Any potential deal with Collins Stewart or other interested parties is likely to bring Nikko up to £200m after repaying the securitisation.

Martyn Pellew, group development director, confirmed that Nikko had begun a strategic review of the PD operation and was talking to potential buyers.

He said: "There has been a high level of interest in the business.

"Nikko has been pursuing a number of interested parties, including Collins Stewart, with a view to the potential sale of the whole of the group, which includes PD Teesport.

"We would expect an answer within weeks, not months."

The PD board, assembled in the past two years, will be hoping its new owners will continue to invest in the growth of the business.

An industry expert said: "It is fair to say Nikko just wanted to get out of the business, having successfully made the original investment in PD.

"From their point of view, they have had three years, turned it into the sort of business they want going forward, but now is the right time for Nikko to withdraw."

The long-term ambition is to see Tees Port turned into a deep sea container operation, but that would call for several hundred million pounds of investment.

The company is also working with Tees Valley Regeneration to re-develop 200 acres of land at Hartlepool into 3,000 homes over the next 15 years.