CVC DIF, the infrastructure arm of global private markets manager CVC, announced that it is acquiring a 49.9% stake in Singapore hazardous waste management firm ECO.
According to the announcement, CVC DIF has agreed to acquire ECO, through DIF Infrastructure VII, from French industrial group Seche Environnement for an undisclosed amount. Seche will retain a 50.1% share.
This transaction marks CVC DIF’s inaugural investment in Asia following CVC Capital Partners’ acquisition of DIF Capital Partners in September last year in a $1.1-billion deal.
ECO, which offers a broad array of hazardous waste management services in Singapore, serves a diversified customer base of industrial companies in the city-state, per the announcement.
With a team of 300 employees, ECO operates 12 waste incinerators and four specialised treatment facilities, including a cementation plant for inorganic waste and a wastewater treatment plant for both organic and inorganic liquid waste.
The company, which has been operating since 1995, has a waste processing capacity of 649,000 tonnes per year. It has a market share of around 32%.
ECO also has a fleet of around 35 vehicles to provide all its collection, transportation, and depollution services.
In 2023, almost 80% of the company’s sales were generated by the recovery and treatment of hazardous waste and 10% by the treatment of sewage sludge from Singapore’s Water Reclamation Plants, ECO said on its website.
The transaction comes less than five months after Seche Environment agreed to buy ECO for around $447.4 million from Beijing Capital Eco-Environment Protection Group.
“The high barriers to entry in the sector make this an interesting investment for DIF Infrastructure VII,” said CVC DIF managing partner Gijs Voskuyl.
Maxime Seche, CEO of Seche Environnement, said the combination will provide “a strong foundation for ECO’s growth in Southeast Asia”.
The deal also followed DIF Infrastructure VII’s final close in March with €4.4 billion (about $4.8 million) in total commitments.