A third mystery private equity fund – likely to be out of Asia – is understood to be in the final stages of the $1bn competition for Waste Services Group, joining Pacific Equity Partners and The Carlyle Group.
EQT Infrastructure was bidding and considered the strongest contender, but passed on the opportunity, while Affinity Equity Partners is out of the race, as earlier flagged by DataRoom.
Bain Capital also took a look but is no longer a contender.
The auction is in the second part of round two, with final bids due in about two weeks.
Investment bank UBS is working on the WSG sale.
It has told prospective buyers that WSG’s earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation could increase from $100m to about $250m in five years.
Established in 2016 and run by Matt Tamplin, WSG has about 6000 customers across managed services and collections.
It has brands such as Premier Waste, Superior Waste, Waste Free, Paper Resource, Specialised Services, Argus and APC Waste Consultants.
According to research and data group IBISWorld, WSG operates in general waste management, including any waste that is non-recyclable and not hazardous, recycled waste and specialised waste, including security documents and hazardous waste.
The understanding is that there is a valuation of about $1bn on the business, which is owned by private equity firm Livingbridge.
IBISWorld says the group generated $235m in annual revenue for the year to June 2023 and EBITDA of $48m, as it made a $4m loss in that year.
At that time, its debt was $324m.
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