French firm to buy Singapore hazardous waste firm ECO for $605 million

SINGAPORE - French industrial group Seche Environnement has agreed to buy Singapore’s ECO Industrial Environmental Engineering for around $605 million, according to a statement by the company on June 17.

The group is buying the hazardous waste company from Beijing Capital Eco-Environment Protection Group, according to the statement.

Reuters reported earlier this month that the sale had attracted interested companies including global infrastructure investors such as Actis and I Squared Capital.

“ECO will provide us with a platform for significant growth in the (Asia-Pacific) region in all our businesses,” Seche Environnement’s chief executive officer Maxime Seche said in the statement.

“This is a major operation that will accelerate our strategy of profitable growth,” he added.

ECO is the number one operator in Singapore’s hazardous waste recovery and treatment market, with a market share of around 32 per cent, Seche Environnement said in the statement.

In 2023, ECO generated sales of around $96 million and adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of around $41 million, the statement showed.

Citi acted as the exclusive sell-side financial advisor to Beijing Capital on the transaction, according to a separate statement by Beijing Capital.

Seche Environnement hired BNP Paribas as financial advisor and Latham & Watkins as legal adviser for this deal, its statement said. REUTERS