Covanta to purchase Circon in ‘transformative’ acquisition

Covanta, Morristown, New Jersey, has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Circon Holdings Inc., a portfolio company of New York City-based Kinderhook Industries.

The addition of Circon, which is subject to customary regulatory approvals, marks the largest single acquisition for Covanta in two decades, bringing with it more than 600 new employees and 2,500 customers.

This represents Covanta’s eighth acquisition following its purchase by EQT Infrastructure in December 2021. The company also says it further demonstrates its commitment to providing carbon-negative solutions to its customers.

Headquartered in La Porte, Texas, Circon is a full-service provider of environmental services with a customer base across more than 20 waste facilities in the Midwest, Southeast and Gulf Coast. As stated in a release, this acquisition is noteworthy for Covanta because of Circon’s geographic reach over multiple regions of the country and its suite of circularity offerings in wastewater treatment and nonhazardous and hazardous waste management.

Circon amplifies Covanta’s ability to provide more last-mile sustainability solutions to its blue-chip customer base and to transform waste into value-based materials, Covanta says.

“Covanta, with Circon’s new geographies and complementary capabilities, will offer the absolute highest value proposition for customers, with full integration across logistics, field services, processing and disposal,” says Azeez Mohammed, president and CEO of Covanta. “This acquisition accelerates our flightpath to becoming the premier company for sustainable materials management.

“With Circon, we are enhancing our carbon-negative solutions and bringing our offerings to the next level. We’re excited about this development and look forward to welcoming Circon’s impressive team. Together we’ll continue to transform Covanta into the very best service provider for our customers’ unique environmental challenges and ESG goals.”

The addition of Circon’s services doubles Covanta’s wastewater footprint, grows its engineered fuels business five-fold and positions the company as a leader in the growing alternative fuels field for kilns. It also meaningfully expands the company’s footprint in the Gulf Coast and Midwest regions, Covanta adds.

“The entire Circon team is grateful for the successful partnership with Kinderhook. We are eager to launch into our next phase of growth with Covanta. After all, we were both built on the tenet of sustainability with the goal of minimizing waste and embracing a circular economy through innovative and environmentally conscious services,” says Frank Iezzi, CEO of Circon. “We will continue to deliver on these sustainable offerings, now dramatically enhanced with the expanded network, increased operational efficiency and strong environmental solutions-based innovations from Covanta. This is exactly what will take our waste management services—and [the] entire industry—to the next level.”

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, New York City, is serving as legal advisor to Covanta. Kirkland & Ellis LLP, Chicago, is serving as legal advisor to Circon. Cleveland-based Brown Gibbons Lang & Co. and Los Angeles-based Houlihan Lokey are serving as financial advisors to Circon.