Swedish private equity giant EQT has signed a binding deal to buy Cleanaway Waste Management, Australia’s largest garbage collector, valuing it at $9.3 billion including debt. Pending shareholder, FIRB and ACCC approval, the deal will end Cleanaway’s 21 years on the ASX.
EQT had been in talks with Cleanaway since April, offering $3.13 a share in August. That was a 32.1% premium to its share price, and valued the business at 20 times its 2026 EBIT. The board had reason to take it. Cleanaway had already cut its guidance on rising fuel costs, and its full year results then missed forecasts on profit, cash flow and margins. Not every shareholder agrees: Tanarra Capital, which owns more than 4% of Cleanaway, criticised the price as too low and the sale process as uncompetitive.
For EQT, the appeal is stability. Household and commercial waste volumes barely move with the economy, and EQT reportedly owns similar waste businesses overseas that it can use to improve Cleanaway’s operations. Lenders shared that confidence, backing EQT with a $5.6 billion debt package from nearly 20 banks. EQT’s pledge to fund more than half the purchase with equity further reassured lenders.
The deal was one of $22.4 billion in takeovers announced to the ASX on Monday, alongside deals for Reliance Worldwide and FleetPartners and a bid for Challenger. Fund managers argue the market’s focus on short-term earnings has left solid companies undervalued, and patient buyers are taking advantage. That matters because households directly own 12.8% of ASX All Ordinaries shares, so every quality company taken private is one fewer that ordinary Australians can buy into.
For EQT, Cleanaway is its first major takeover of an ASX company in nearly a decade, after it walked away from AUB Group and abandoned Vocus. Its next target is Perpetual, where a fourth bid could take another name off the ASX.
