Shares in Cleanaway Waste Management jumped 19.8 percent to $2.96 by 1.40pm AEDT on 19 October after the company signed a binding scheme implementation deed with Swedish private equity group EQT. The surge made Cleanaway the top performer on the ASX 200 for the session.
Under the scheme, EQT Infrastructure VI will acquire 100 percent of Cleanaway’s shares for $3.095 cash per share, less the value of any dividends or distributions paid before implementation. The price implies an enterprise valuation of about $9.3 billion and a 32.1 percent premium to the $2.37 closing price on 12 August 2026, the last full trading day before Cleanaway issued its first media release about a potential transaction. The offer equals a 34.5 percent premium to the company’s three-month volume-weighted average share price to that date.
The Cleanaway Board unanimously recommends that shareholders vote in favour of the scheme, in the absence of a superior proposal and subject to an independent expert concluding that the deal serves the best interests of shareholders. Chair Samantha Hogg said in a statement that the Board assessed EQT’s proposal against the value of Cleanaway on a standalone basis, including the opportunities under Blueprint 2030 2.0. She said: “Following a disciplined process and engagement with EQT, the Board is unanimous in its view that the Scheme delivers strong and certain cash value to shareholders, at a significant premium to Cleanaway’s undisturbed share price.”
The Board is considering a fully franked special dividend of between 14.5 cents and 19 cents a share before the deal completes, subject to the availability of franking credits. Any dividend declared reduces the cash price shareholders receive under the scheme.
EQT’s plans for Cleanaway
EQT approached Cleanaway in mid-August and received exclusive due diligence, a process that produced the formal agreement. EQT Infrastructure managing director Sam Franklin said: “Cleanaway has built an exceptional national platform providing services to Australians every day.” EQT lists Urbaser, ReWorld, Encyclis and Arcwood among its global waste and environmental services investments, and it intends to partner with Cleanaway’s management team and employees on long-term growth and Australia’s circular economy.
Approvals and timeline
The deal needs approval from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, the Foreign Investment Review Board and competition authorities in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. Cleanaway shareholders, the Federal Court of Australia and a favourable independent expert opinion must all support the scheme as well. Cleanaway expects to hold the scheme meeting in late February 2027 and to implement the deal by the end of March 2027 if every approval comes through.
Shareholders can wait for the scheme booklet and the independent expert’s report, which Cleanaway will send in due course. Barrenjoey and Macquarie Capital act as financial advisers to Cleanaway, and Ashurst Perkins Coie acts as legal adviser.
The transaction signals that large Australian infrastructure-linked businesses with stable earnings, defensive characteristics and long-term demand growth remain attractive takeover targets for private capital, particularly in a waste and resource recovery sector tied to population growth and environmental regulation.
