Takeover of Greenstar and Panda owner set to lead to European expansion

The new owner of Irish waste management group Beauparc Utilities is planning to grow the business through acquisition and organic means across the UK and mainland Europe.

Australian investment bank Macquarie has confirmed that it has reached agreement to buy Beauparc – which owns the Greenstar and Panda Waste brands – for an undisclosed sum, believed to be around €1bn.

The sale is subject to regulatory approval but is expected to complete during the third quarter of this year. It will create a sizeable cash windfall for Beauparc’s current owners – founder Eamon Waters and US private equity firm Blackstone, which has held a minority stake.

Beauparc’s interests span recycling to waste-to-resources.

As well as a leading position in Ireland, it has a growing presence in Britain and the Netherlands. In Ireland, it also owns A1 Skips, Bioverda, OZO and Panda Power.

A spokesperson for Macquarie said it wants to expand Beauparc’s UK business – currently strong in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire – through organic growth, acquisitions and increasing its waste recycling and processing volumes.

They said the company also plans to further expand Beauparc’s position in mainland Europe.

Beauparc-owned businesses currently serve more than 340,000 residential, commercial, electricity and gas customers across a portfolio of 40 waste facilities, where more than three million tonnes of waste is processed each year. 

Beauparc is seeking to increase the amount of recyclable waste through significant investments in plastics recycling, soil restoration and anaerobic digestion.

Macquarie Asset Management has held investments in the waste sector for over 15 years, mainly in the Americas and the Asia-Pacific region.