Waste management firm Biffa’s board looks set to recommend a takeover offer from Energy Capital Partners (ECP).
ECP has made an offer of 445p per share for Biffa in cash.
Biffa said in a statement: “The board of Biffa has concluded that should a firm offer be made on the same financial terms as the proposal, it would be minded to recommend it to Biffa shareholders, subject to the agreement of other customary terms and conditions.”
Having evaluated the proposal along with its financial advisor Rothschild & Co, Biffa’s board has granted ECP access to due diligence materials.
This evaluation also included discussions between HMRC and Biffa regarding a landfill tax enquiry. HMRC has raised an issue with misclassification of waste across the industry, but Biffa strongly refuted these concerns.
Biffa is receiving advice from Ernst & Young and is co-operating with HMRC. To date, no formal claim for tax has been received, and according to Biffa, there is no certainty that HMRC will bring a claim.
Assessment of any potential liability has found it could be anywhere between £170,000 and £153 million.
On its current trading, Biffa noted: “Biffa continues to trade well, with underlying performance being in line with the board’s expectations.
“Volumes have remained at expected levels and Biffa continues to mitigate inflationary headwinds. Good progress continues to be made in delivering key strategic priorities including the integration of recent acquisitions, ramping up production of food grade recycled plastics, and developing energy from waste projects.”
It has also delayed publication of its full year results from 16 June 2022 to 28 June 2022 as a result of the takeover proposal.
