Funds managed by Morgan Stanley Infrastructure agree takeover bid for Yorkshire-based waste management business Augean

The boards of Augean Plc and Antwerp Management Limited have agreed the terms of a recommended acquisition of Augean by Bidco, a newly-incorporated company indirectly owned by funds managed or advised by Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Inc (MSI).

MSI is an indirect subsidiary of Morgan Stanley, a US-based corporation and part of Morgan Stanley's global private infrastructure investment platform, Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners (MSIP).

The Augean directors, who have been advised by Rothschild & Co as to the financial terms of the offer, consider the terms to be fair and reasonable.

The statement said: "The offer.. values the entire issued and to be issued ordinary share capital of Augean at approximately £314.9 million on a fully diluted basis."

Jim Meredith, Executive Chairman of Augean, which is based in Wetherby, said: "The board of Augean believes that MSIP is well-respected as a long-term investor in the infrastructure sector and will be able to support Augean's strategy of providing the highest level of customer service and safe operations in niche and highly regulated hazardous waste markets which should allow the business to develop its services to an increasing breadth of customers while offering commensurate opportunities for our employees.

"We are very proud of Augean's performance in successfully executing a complex turnaround programme and delivering very strong share price performance in recent years. This has been achieved through contributions from employees across the whole spectrum of the company not least from the senior management team, resulting in a significant increase in shareholder value."

Commenting on the Offer, Alberto Donzelli, Managing Director and Co-Head of European Investing for MSIP said: "Augean is a UK-based hazardous waste management operator with an excellent reputation amongst its customer base. We look forward to working with management, and contributing MSIP's expertise, to support the company in further strengthening its industry leading position"