Biffa close to £1bn takeover by private equity firm Energy Capital Partners

Published by

Stephen Emerson

Waste management firm Biffa is close to being acquired by a private equity firm in a deal worth over £1bn.

An announcement by the High Wycombe headquartered firm to the stock exchange this morning said that it had received an "unsolicited" approach from Energy Capital Partners which had resulted in an offer of 445 pence per Biffa share in cash.

The offer values the business at around £1.36bn. Shares in Biffa closed at 325p per share on Monday, giving it a market value of £924.9m.

Biffa's share price surged by 25% percent following this morning's announcement reaching a high of 423p per share.

The Biffa board, which is being advised by Rothschild & Co, has confirmed that should a formal offer be made on the same financial terms then it would recommend it to its shareholders adding that the two parties have now entered a process of due diligence.

Biffa said the offer was based on the current and likely future value of the business and that it made allowances for the "various risks" the company faces, including ongoing discussions between Biffa and HM Revenue and Customs over a landfill tax enquiry.

The probe centres around HMRC's concerns that waste across the industry has been misclassified, and is therefore being assessed on "certain aspects" of its landfill tax compliance. Biffa said it refuted HMRC's concerns and that it was co-operating fully with the enquiry.

The company also briefly updated on trading, noting that it continues to trade "well" and that the underlying performance remained in line with expectations.

The FTSE 250 company was due to post full-year results on 16 June, but that has now been pushed back to 28 June, in light of the proposed takeover offer.

Stephen Emerson

Stephen Emerson is the Managing Editor of The Business Magazine and is responsible for the publication's print publications and online properties including the newly launched Biz News websites in Hampshire and Dorset. Stephen has been a journalist for 20 years and has worked at local, regional and national publications and led a team which made The Scotsman website one of the fastest growing news sites in the UK with over eight million monthly users. He has a keen interest in technology, property and corporate finance and telling the stories of the people behind the successful firms in these sectors.