The €246 billion purpose-driven investment group is acquiring the Seoul-based waste management company KJ Environment and affiliated companies from Genesis Private Equity, a South Korean buyout firm.
With its second infrastructure deal in South Korea, EQT hopes to establish a scaled waste end-to-end platform that focuses on plastic recycling and waste-to-energy. “South Korea holds tremendous potential and is strategically important to our regional investment strategy,” said EQT’s Sang Jun Suh.
Color-coded waste
South Korea is a sustainable waste management leader, with a recycling and composting rate of around 60%. Its waste management system, called “jongnyangje,” mandates that waste items are separated into color-coded bags. South Korea aims to slash its plastic waste in half — and recycle 70% of it — by 2030.
EQT made the deal via its sixth EQT Infrastructure Fund, which has a €20 billion target.
Sustainability performance
In a separate deal, EQT last week reached an agreement to acquire a majority stake in Ireland’s AMCS, which develops sustainability software for resource-intensive industries, including waste management and recycling, transportation and utilities.
EQT’s Simon Griffiths said the firm looks for “leading businesses where the market opportunity and the very strong decarbonization angle supports a long-term investment horizon.”
AMCS’ minority shareholders Insight Partners, Clearlake Capital, Highland Europe and the Ireland Investment Fund will retain their stakes in the company.
