Viridor said today (5 August) the sale of its industrial and commercial (I&C) waste collections business and “certain recycling assets” to Biffa remains “on track” to go through at the end of the month.
Biffa announced it had agreed to acquire the assets for £126 million on 21 May (see letsrecycle.com story).
The deal involves three waste transfer stations in Edinburgh, Sheffield and Cornwall, 15 depots across the country and ‘wet waste depots’ in Slough, Thurrock and Taunton.
It also includes four material recycling facilities (MRFs) in Ford, Plymouth, Milton Keynes and Masons, three composting facilities in Priorswood, Walpole and Dimmer and an anaerobic digestion plant in Walpole. Viridor’s Crayford MRF is not included (see below).
In an update to the London Stock exchange published on 5 July, Biffa said the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) had confirmed it “had no further questions” relating to the transaction. This cleared the way for the deal to be completed on 31 August.
A spokesperson for both Viridor and Biffa told letsrecycle.com today: “Viridor and Biffa are pleased to confirm that the sale transaction remains on track for completion on 31 August 2021.
“This is in line with the 5 July market update which also confirmed that the CMA had no further questions concerning the transaction at this time.”
In a webcast held to mark the deal on 21 May, Biffa’s chief executive Michael Topham said the agreement demonstrated his company’s “ambition” in the I&C market (see letsrecycle.com story).
Biffa had initially said the move would be completed “not before August”.
Crayford
One asset which was not included in the deal is Viridor’s Crayford MRF in south east London.
Built in 2003, the MRF processes dry recyclables including paper, card, plastic bottles, cans and glass from 28 local authorities. Viridor says it is the largest of the company’s materials recycling operations in the UK.
Today, a Viridor spokesperson confirmed to letsrecycle.com that the MRF was not part of the sale agreement with Biffa, and said that it remained an “important asset”.
The Crayford facility is thought not to have been included in the deal due to potential concerns around competition. There are relatively few MRFs in London and Biffa already has a large MRF at Edmonton. The Crayford one is even larger, with the capacity to process around 250,000 tonnes of waste per annum.
However, with Viridor focusing on energy from waste and selling off most of its recycling assets – apart from those involved with its polymer activities – some in the sector believe that bidders may be sought for the Crayford facility.
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Source: letsrecycle.com Waste Managment
