Wastequip, a North American manufacturer of waste equipment, announced it has signed a definitive agreement to be acquired by H.I.G. Capital, LLC (“H.I.G.”), a global private equity investment firm. Wastequip has been owned by Centerbridge Partners, L.P. (“Centerbridge”) since 2012.

Marty Bryant, chief executive officer of Wastequip, commented, “We want to thank Centerbridge Partners for their invaluable partnership over the last five years. Centerbridge’s support has been instrumental in strengthening Wastequip’s position as the largest and most trusted supplier in the waste equipment industry with leading brands, top quality products and world-class customer service.” 

Kyle Cruz, senior managing director at Centerbridge said, “Over the past five years, we partnered with Marty and his team to improve the performance and competitiveness of the company. We are proud of their success and believe that Wastequip is well-positioned for the future.”

Bryant continued by saying, “As we transition into this next stage of our company’s life, we couldn’t be more excited to partner with a firm like H.I.G. The resources and industry knowledge that H.I.G. brings will allow us to accelerate our growth plan. With this partnership, we are confident we will grow our already industry-leading position and, most importantly, continue to satisfy the needs of our customers.”

“We are very excited to partner with Marty and the rest of the Wastequip team,” said Tenno Tsai, managing director at H.I.G. “The company’s diverse product portfolio, customer base and nationwide footprint uniquely position it to capitalize on growth opportunities. We look forward to supporting Wastequip’s next phase of growth by investing in new product development, geographic expansion and complementary acquisitions.”

Wastequip’s existing management team will continue to run the business going forward. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to be completed by the end of the first quarter of 2018. Barclays Capital, Inc. (“Barclays”) and Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC are providing committed financing for the transaction. Barclays acted as lead financial advisor, Moelis & Company LLC acted as financial advisor, and Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP provided legal advice to Wastequip in the transaction. Houlihan Lokey acted as financial advisor and Ropes & Gray LLP provided legal advice to H.I.G.