Win Waste sale is being reviewed by Macquarie, PE Hub reports

Macquarie Asset Management is reviewing a potential Win Waste sale, with the waste-to-energy operator in the early stages of an exit process, PE Hub reported, citing four people briefed on the matter. The company generated more than $300 million of EBITDA in the past year and carries debt of about $1.6 billion or more, according to those sources.

Win Waste, previously known as Wheelabrator, is being advised by Macquarie’s investment banking group and Nomura Greentech as co-sellside advisers, PE Hub reported. Macquarie declined to comment to PE Hub, while Win Waste and Nomura Greentech did not respond to requests for comment.

The review places a sizeable US environmental infrastructure asset in front of a buyer market that has continued to value waste businesses on earnings multiples. One person cited by PE Hub said Win Waste could attract a valuation of roughly 10 times EBITDA in a sale, given its debt profile. SIPA privateMetrics, part of PEI Group, put the median valuation for waste collection, recovery and disposal providers at 12.7 times EBITDA over the past 24 months, PE Hub reported.

What is Win Waste?

Win Waste is a Portsmouth, New Hampshire-based waste management company with collection sites, landfills, recycling operations and waste-to-energy power plants, mainly in the northeastern United States. The company operates 12 waste-to-energy facilities running from Maine to Maryland, according to PE Hub.

Waste-to-energy plants burn municipal waste and use the heat to produce power, reducing the volume of material sent to landfills while creating an energy output. The business model can appeal to infrastructure investors because it combines contracted waste handling, physical assets and regulated or semi-regulated environmental services.

PE Hub reported that Win Waste’s mix of landfills, intermodal facilities, recycling functions and waste-to-energy incinerators could draw interest from global infrastructure funds and a limited group of strategic buyers. A second person cited by PE Hub said the pool of buyers for the entire company is narrow, with European strategic groups such as Veolia or FCC Group seen as possible candidates.

That person added that more buyers could emerge if the company were split into separate assets, with one group focused on waste collection and landfill operations and another focused on the waste-to-energy business. No transaction has been announced, and the process remains at an early review stage, according to PE Hub’s reporting.

Why is Macquarie considering a sale now?

PE Hub reported that Win Waste had been linked in 2021 and 2022 to a possible initial public offering review. This time, however, Macquarie is preparing only for a potential sale as an exit route, the people cited by PE Hub said.

The company traces its origins to American Foundry Equipment, founded in 1911. It adopted the Wheelabrator name in 1971 after opening its first waste-to-energy incinerator in Saugus, Massachusetts, according to PE Hub. Macquarie acquired the business from ECP in 2019 and renamed it Win Waste in 2021 to reflect its expansion into broader waste and environmental services.

This story draws on original reporting from PE Hub.