Australia's Cleanaway Agrees to A$9.3 Billion EQT Takeover at A$3.095 a Share; Board Unanimously Recommends Deal
MELBOURNE — Cleanaway Waste Management, Australia's largest integrated waste management and resource recovery company, said on Monday it has entered into a binding scheme implementation deed with EQT Infrastructure VI, under which the Swedish private equity group's fund will acquire 100% of Cleanaway's issued shares by way of a scheme of arrangement, in a deal implying an enterprise valuation of about A$9.3 billion (about US$6.5 billion), including debt, Reuters reported.
Under the scheme, Cleanaway shareholders will receive A$3.095 in cash for each share, less the amount of any dividends paid before completion. The consideration reflects EQT's indicative offer of A$3.13 per share, adjusted for Cleanaway's final dividend paid on October 8. The A$3.13 offer represents a 32.1% premium to Cleanaway's closing price of A$2.37 on August 12, the last trading day before EQT's approach was first disclosed, and values the company at about 20 times fiscal 2026 underlying EBIT.
Cleanaway's board unanimously recommends that shareholders vote in favour of the scheme, in the absence of a superior proposal and subject to an independent expert concluding it is in shareholders' best interests. The company may pay aggregate cash dividends of up to A$0.19 per share before implementation, including a fully franked special dividend expected to be between A$0.145 and A$0.190, with any dividends deducted from the scheme consideration. Cleanaway shares jumped nearly 20% to A$2.960 in Monday trading, on track for their best day since October 2011.
The scheme remains subject to customary conditions, including approvals from Australia's Foreign Investment Review Board and competition regulator, authorities in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, and shareholder and court approval. A shareholder vote is expected before the end of February 2027, with completion targeted by the end of March 2027. EQT was granted exclusive due diligence by Cleanaway in August. (GSM, via Reuters and EQT's announcement)
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：Cleanaway垃圾清运车（资料图）。图片来源：Wikimedia Commons，CC BY 2.0。Photo: A Cleanaway refuse collection truck (file photo). Image: via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.
