Affirma Capital to acquire Equis’ Korean waste assets for $294 million

Affirma Capital, a Singapore-headquartered buyout private equity firm, has agreed to acquire an entire portfolio of South Korean waste processing assets owned by Equis Development Pte. for about 400 billion won ($294 million), according to sources in the investment banking industry on Tuesday.

The deal includes Circular Energy Korea (CEK), Korea’s third-largest waste incineration company, which Equis bought last year from KC Green Holdings Co., Korea Investment Private Equity and a Korea Development Bank-Eugene PE consortium for about 250 billion won.

Equis, also based in Singapore, initially considered selling a minority stake in the company but opted for a full exit from its Korean waste asset portfolio built over the last six years, following a proposal from Affirma, said sources.

CEK, formerly KC Environmental Services, specializes in waste recovery and energy generation. It operates waste treatment facilities in the Yeosu Industrial Complex, the largest petrochemical industrial complex in Korea, as well as in Changwon and Jeonju. It also sells heat energy generated from waste incineration to nearby industrial plants.

With Equis’ Korea-based waste processing assets, Affirma Capital will deepen its presence in Korea’s waste management sector.  

AFFIRMA CAPITAL’S WASTE MANAGEMENT PUSH IN KOREA

The mid-market-focused buyout firm has a track record of managing a substantial portfolio of waste management assets in Korea, and the latest deal will strengthen its position in the country’s rapidly evolving environmental infrastructure market.

In 2024, it acquired Korea’s leading landfill operator, Jentec, valued at 500 billion won, for an undisclosed amount with Seoul-based The Hahm Partners.

A year before, the two again teamed up to buy a local chemical waste treatment and recycling company, Kwangjin.

In 2020, Affirma Capital pocketed a return of around 10 times its investment in EMC Co. It sold a 100% stake in the country's largest waste treatment firm to SK Engineering & Construction Co. for 1.5 trillion won.

Affirma Capital plans to close the CEK deal by the third quarter of this year. It currently manages over $4 billion of assets across Korea, India, Southeast Asia, China, Africa and the Middle East.

Equis mainly invests in waste-to-energy, waste management and recovery infrastructure sectors.

Write to Jong-Kwan Park at pjk@hankyung.com
Sookyung Seo edited this article.