Alliance in the fight for Urbaserthe largest private capital operation in 2024 and which can amount to up to 5,000 million euros. The Australian Fund Macquarie has partnered with the Canadian pension fund British Columbia Investment Management (BCI) to bid jointly for the Spanish waste management giant, according to ‘Infralogic’, citing sources familiar with the situation.
The portal specialized in mergers and acquisitions (M&A in the jargon of the sector) points out that Macquarie has previously collaborated with BCI on several transactions. The most recent has been the purchase of National Grid, the United Kingdom’s gas transportation system, signed in 2023. elEconomista.es announced last September that the foreign investor It had already hired Barclays as an advisor for the operation.
However, a lot of competition is expected for the company run by Fernando Abril Martorell. Sources in the sector point to KKR, which has hired the services of Greenhill as an investment bank, as major interested parties, and the Swedish fund EQT as other candidates in the running. Ardian has allied itself with Wren House, as other sources explained to this mediumand funds such as Stonepeak and I Squared have also analyzed the transaction.
In recent weeks, the possibility has also emerged that even industrial groups large enough to undertake an operation of this type could apply. This category is occupied by few companies, such as the German company Remondis, present in 30 countries and with annual revenues of 6.4 billion, or Prezeroowned by the Schwarz Group, known for having purchased Ferrovial’s environmental business in Spain and Portugal for 1,133 million euros in 2021.
The sale of Urbaser will mark the third change of ownership in the last eight years. ACS sold the firm to Ying Zhan Investment in 2016, for between 1,164 and 1,399 million. The Chinese group did the same in 2021 and sold the company to its current owner, Platinum, controlled by Detroit Pistons owner Tom Gores, for €3.5 billion.
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