Platinum Equity Sells Urbaser to Blackstone, EQT for $6.6 Billion

• The acquisition price is $6.6 billion, with buyers Blackstone and EQT jointly acquiring the company
• Platinum Equity is carving out and retaining Urbaser's Argentina waste management business from the sale
• The transaction involves a Spanish waste management company changing hands between prominent private equity firms

Platinum Equity Sells Urbaser to Blackstone and EQT for $6.6 Billion

Private equity firm Platinum Equity has reached an agreement to sell Urbaser, a Spanish waste management company, to fellow private equity firms Blackstone and EQT for $6.6 billion. The transaction was announced on February 12.

Key Transaction Details:

• Sale Price: $6.6 billion
• Seller: Platinum Equity
• Buyers: Blackstone and EQT (joint acquisition)
• Target Company: Urbaser, a Spain-based waste management operator
• Carve-out: Platinum Equity will retain ownership of Urbaser's waste management operations in Argentina

Market Implications:

This transaction represents a significant consolidation move in the waste management sector and demonstrates continued strong appetite from major private equity firms for environmental services and infrastructure assets. The deal size places it among substantial private equity transactions in the sector.

The involvement of two major PE firms—Blackstone and EQT—suggests the asset's scale and quality merited a consortium approach. Waste management companies have become increasingly attractive to infrastructure-focused investors due to their stable cash flows, essential service nature, and growing emphasis on sustainability and circular economy initiatives.

Platinum's decision to retain the Argentine operations indicates either strategic value in that market or potentially different risk/return profiles that didn't align with the broader sale.

The transaction continues the active dealmaking trend in environmental services, where consolidation and professionalization of waste management operations across Europe and emerging markets remain key investment themes for private equity.