Blackstone and EQT to Acquire Urbaser for $6.6B
Blackstone and EQT have agreed to acquire Urbaser, a global environmental management company, from Platinum Equity for approximately $6.6 billion. The deal signals Blackstone's strategic pivot toward infrastructure and essential services, which offer long-term, inflation-resistant cash flows amid economic uncertainty.
- Platinum Equity acquired Urbaser from China Tianying Inc. in October 2021 for approximately $4.2 billion. Under its ownership, Urbaser's revenue grew by over 60% and its EBITDA increased by 70% through initiatives that included 20 add-on acquisitions and the divestment of 13 non-core divisions. - As part of the current transaction, Platinum Equity will retain Urbaser's waste management business in Argentina, a division that has been operating for 30 years and generated around $90 million in EBITDA in 2025. - The new ownership structure will see Blackstone and EQT each holding a 50% stake in Urbaser, and they will jointly manage the company. - Headquartered in Madrid, Spain, Urbaser serves more than 70 million people across 25 countries with a workforce of over 50,000 employees. Its core operations are divided into Urban Services (like waste collection and street cleaning), Municipal Waste Treatment, and Industrial Waste Treatment. - The company manages significant infrastructure, including 133 waste treatment facilities that process 20 million tons of waste annually and generate 1,500 GWh of electricity from waste. - EQT has a history of investing in sustainable waste management and plans to help Urbaser expand its industrial waste segment and strengthen its municipal operations. Since opening its Madrid office in 2015, EQT has invested over €7 billion in equity in Spain. - Blackstone's infrastructure investment strategy focuses on a long-term, buy-and-hold approach to large-scale assets in sectors such as water and waste. The firm's Co-Head of European Investments is Adam Kuhnley. - The current CEO of Urbaser is Fernando Abril-Martorell, who will continue to lead the company under the new ownership.
