The board of Greenstar announced today (February 9) that a contract has been signed for the sale to Panda of the “collections, transfer and processing divisions of the Greenstar business.” The transaction excludes the landfill power business.
However, the sale of Greenstar is subject to clearance from Ireland’s Competition & Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC). The company operates primarily in south east Ireland. 
And, the proposed deal comes ahead of Ireland’s switch later this year to a “pay as you throw” system for household waste.
Consolidation
Mark Burrows Smith, chief executive of Greenstar said: “The consolidation of the waste management industry in Ireland has long been viewed as necessary and this transaction is consistent with the objectives set by the Greenstar Board. The Greenstar Board would like to reassure our employees, customers and other stakeholders that both the Greenstar Board and the Greenstar management team will be working closely with Panda to ensure a smooth transition for all concerned following completion. Until completion, the Greenstar business will continue as usual”.
Mr Burrows-Smith joined Greenstar from Viridor last year, where he was chief operating officer.
“The consolidation of the waste management industry in Ireland has long been viewed as necessary”
Mark Burrows Smith
Chief executive, Greenstar, Ireland
A spokesperson for Cerberus Capital Management, investor in Greenstar, said: “This has been an excellent investment for Cerberus. Mark Burrows Smith and his management team have achieved an impressive turnaround of Greenstar in a relatively short time span which has enabled the sale process to be accelerated. We are also delighted that Mark has agreed to remain with Cerberus on completion of the deal.”
Leading
Panda is a family business with its origins in Slane, Co Meath. Founded in the 1980s the company describes itself as one of the most widely recognised and trusted brands in Ireland. Brian McCabe, chief executive of Panda said: “Panda was founded over 30 years ago and has grown from strength to strength over that time. The joining of Panda and Greenstar will create a leading Irish owned and managed municipal and commercial waste collection, processing and recycling business in the country. This will enable the combined business to continue to innovate and to deliver better, faster and more competitive waste management and recycling services to both companies’ customers. We look forward to bringing together the talent from both organisations and to welcoming our new colleagues and customers.”
Panda’s residential bin collections service collects the bins of over 150,000 households while its commercial bin collections division offers a service to over 15,000 businesses.
Last year, Panda said it was delighted to be chosen by Ireland’s Repak organisation as the best waste collector in Ireland.
In a statement Panda said: “This success is a reflection of our commitment to recycling for our customers in an environmentally friendly way. Over 2015 Panda have demonstrated market leadership in waste management through the following initiatives which made us stand out as industry leaders: our 24/7 emergency truck service, our different payment plans (including waivers for disadvantaged customers), our new noise and CO2-reducing hybrid trucks, and our MRF plant (the largest in Ireland).”
Greenstar
Greenstar describes itself as: “Ireland’s leading provider of sustainable waste resource management and recycling solutions, recovering over 70% of the waste resource material it handles annually. Providing direct employment to over 840 people across a network of 9 EPA licensed material recovery/transfer facilities and 2 permitted sites nationwide. Greenstar acts as a one-stop-shop managing waste resources from point of collection and managed services, through to materials processing, commodity upgrading and trading, energy recovery and sustainable disposal.”
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