Biffa in secret sell off talks: Waste management firm to go on sale for £1bn?
Waste management firm Biffa is has been courting prospective buyers, giving itself a price tag of £1bn, Sky News has reported.
The company is this morning set to report its half-year earnings, reportedly up by 19 per cent to £67.2m, with full-year profit expectations revised upward to £119m.
Biffa is rumoured to have asked any bidders to table offers by the end of the day.
Hedge funds Angelo Gordon & Co, Avenue Capital Group and Sankaty Advisors currently own the company, following a restructuring deal in 2012.
Biffa runs 2,500 waste collection trucks in the UK.
Earlier this year chief executive Ian Wakelin, said in an interview he would like to return the company to the stock market: “I do think that Biffa back in public hands would be an attractive investment, particularly with its growth potential. I think it would be a good place for the company to end up.”
“For me, the most natural home for this business is back in the publicly quoted environment, he added."
In the commercial market Biffa hauls waste away for Sainsbury, Royal Mail and Pret a Manger.
A Biffa spokesman declined to comment.