Tom Gores, the American magnate who owns the Detroit Pistons, redoubles his strategic commitment to Spain. Its venture capital manager, Platinum Equity, has just closed the acquisition of Urbaser, the former ACS waste business, which the Spanish construction company sold in September 2016 to the Asian group China Tianying (CNTY) for 1,320 million, generating the Spanish capital gains of 550 million euros. Now, five years later, the US fund will disburse around 3,500 million euros to take over this Spanish company. The operation is still subject to approval by the corresponding Competition authorities, which will foreseeably arrive during the third quarter of the year.
With approximate revenues of 2,800 million dollars in 2020 (2,300 million euros), Urbaser serves more than 70 million people in 25 countries through a network of more than 50,000 employees. Specifically, it works in large cities such as Madrid, Barcelona, London, Paris, Buenos Aires or Santiago de Chile, among others. “Urbaser is a complex company, which is both a vital service provider and an important steward of the environment,” said Tom Gores, founder and CEO of Platinum Equity. “It is a leader in a sector that requires both operational excellence and ESG best practices. It is tailor-made for Platinum’s hands-on approach and we are excited about the opportunity,” he said in a statement.
In this sense, for investors, this transaction was particularly interesting for two main reasons. The first is related to the large international presence of the group, which makes it a leader in its sector. The second is related to the sector in which the company carries out its activity: waste treatment, at a time when investor appetite for the circular economy and the energy transition is at all-time highs. This appetite translated into a matchup against other heavyweights in the industry, who also made it to the finals. However, in the end the favorite of the process has taken the company. The operation has been advised by Société Générale, Crédit Agricole and Deutsche Bank.
Who is Platinum Equity?
Founded in 1995 by Gores, the US manager has 23,000 million dollars (19,036 million euros) in assets under management. Investments from Spain are led by the Basque Igor Chacartegui, who is also responsible for structuring and executing Platinum’s operations in the rest of the Old Continent. The acquisition of Urbaser is the third investment closed by Platinum in Spain, but also the largest to date.
His landing in the country dates back to 2014, when they bought and strongly promoted his international business until he sold his stake to Nazca in 2018. His second bet materialized in 2019, when, the second largest Spanish fishing company, Portobello, that participates with them in the capital.
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