United Kingdom | Waste collection firm Biffa from the United Kingdom has confirmed it has agreed to a takeover offer worth £1.2 billion (US 2.35 billion) from a consortium of private equity concerns. However Biffa - whose 1,500 vehicles are a familiar sight across much of the UK - has also said it might well receive another approach worth even more.Biffa is involved in all areas of waste management in the United Kingdom, including general rubbish collection, recycling, landfill sites, handling hazardous waste and cleaning. It has 86 depots, which between them collected some four million tonnes of waste last year.
The consortium, comprising Montagu Funds, Global Infrastructure Partners and UCIL, is offering 350 pence a share for the company, one of the giants in the sector. But Biffa has said in a statement that "a third party" is now carrying out due diligence checks on its books and could improve on that figure.
Montagu's Jason Gatenby says Biffa was 'a market-leading business with a great workforce in a sector we understand well and where we have a demonstrable track record of success.' Biffa's Non-Executive Chairman Bob Davies says the buyers' investment plans ‘will help maximise the opportunities presented by changing legislation to deliver growth into the medium term.’
In November 2007 Montagu and HgCapital announced they had approached Biffa some weeks earlier about a possible cash offer - later revealed to be 330 pence a share - but had been rejected. In January HgCapital withdrew its interest and the third party came on the scene after that.
