Merrill Lynch and UBS – both shareholders of Brambles – have been appointed to organise the sale, which could reap Brambles more than 500 million.
But, a spokesman for the company said potential buyers had not yet been contacted.
The Brambles UK spokesman told letsrecycle.com: “We made it very clear that we were selling the company therefore you would expect us to be actively looking for a buyer. UBS and Merrill Lynch have been appointed to take that forward, but the documentation has not yet been made available. However, we are sure that there will be a lot of people interested in this sale.”
The company gave itself until November this year to sell Cleanaway UK, but is now thought likely to arrange a sale in the next few months.
Across the UK, Cleanaway employs about 9,000 people at more than 200 sites, and has undergone a number of high-level management changes in recent years. Its work ranges from hazardous waste treatment, recycling and waste disposal through to municipal services including a sizeable landscape division.
Cleanaway is thought to be the largest private sector player in the municipal waste collections market at the moment, with estimates suggesting the company has a market share of just over 23%.
Last month saw the sale of Cleanaway's Scottish operations to rival waste firm Shanks (see letsrecycle.com story).
Other waste management companies are now circling, with some interested in the whole package, while others are hoping for select cuts of Cleanaway.
Favourites
Some of the particular favourites for acquiring all or part of Cleanaway at the moment include French-owned Veolia Environmental Services (recently rebranded from Onyx) and Waste Recycling Group, which is owned by powerful private equity group Terra Firma.
Veolia has revealed its continuing ambitions for making acquisitions in the waste market with its buy-out of the Shanks hazardous waste division last October (see letsrecycle.com story). Should Veolia end up taking on the Cleanaway business, it could more than double its estimated 18% share of the municipal waste collections market in the UK.
Industry figures also see WRG as favourites to snap up Cleanaway. With new chairman Lord Birt at the helm, WRG is thought to have access to billions of pounds of borrowing for such an acquisition through its parent group, Terra Firma. Terra Firma is led by Guy Hands, a powerful figure in investment circles.
Other major players in the waste management market that have made significant acquisitions in recent years include Biffa, SITA UK and Viridor Waste Management, which is owned by the Pennon Group.
Investment analysts have suggested that some of the larger waste companies like SITA may come up against problems with competition authorities if seeking to bid for Cleanaway. Some have suggested private equity groups or relatively new entrants into the UK market could therefore be more likely.
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