Waste Management New Zealand is set for new ownership following its sale from Beijing Capital Group to international investment firm Igneo Infrastructure Partners.
The sale is subject to Overseas Investment Office approval and is expected to be finalised late 2022.
Igneo manages more than NZ$20 billion worth of assets on behalf of more than 120 investors around the world. The deal is the firm’s first waste management acquisition in New Zealand.
The Australian Financial Review is reporting the deal to be worth NZ$1.9b. This is up significantly from when Beijing Capital bought the company in 2014 from ASX-listed Cleanaway Waste Management for NZ$950m.
Igneo’s Australia and New Zealand head Danny Latham says the firm sees long-term growth prospects with the purchase.
“Waste Management NZ is well-placed to benefit from the structural shift towards materials recovery with positive engagement with its customers, strong existing capabilities in recycling and a large national collections fleet.”
Meanwhile, Australia and New Zealand transactions head Gavin Kerr says the acquisition also aligns with Igneo’s focus on environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance.
“We believe Waste Management NZ is playing an important role in the transition to a circular economy with the progressive electrification of its collection fleet, the breadth of its resource recovery capabilities and the high level of gas capture in its landfills – the source of which is used to generate electricity for over 24,000 homes.”
Waste Management NZ’s collections business operates with over 860 trucks across 70 locations in New Zealand, collecting over 2.1 million municipal bins per month.
The post-collections segment comprises a strategic nationwide network of 49 material recovery, transfer stations and technical facilities, handling over one million tonnes of residual waste and recycling over 200 thousand tonnes.
Waste Management NZ represents the third standalone investment made by Igneo in New Zealand in recent years. Its other investments including First Gas, a natural gas transmission, storage and distribution business; and Tuatahi First Fibre, the second largest fibre-to-the-premises broadband network.
Igneo was jointly advised by Craigs Investment Partners and Royal Bank of Canada on the transaction and Bell Gully acted as legal counsel.
Waste Management NZ managing director Evan Maehl met with senior executives of Igneo on several occasions through the sale process.
He says the investment firm are very interested in New Zealand and the potential that this market offers, as well as the company’s drive towards the circular economy and a low carbon future.
Igneo will be retaining the current New Zealand management structure of Waste Management with Maehl remaining the managing director.
