Fortum completes waste and recycling divestiture

Finland-based energy company Fortum says it has completed the divestiture of its recycling and waste business to Sweden-based Summa Equity. The transaction was initially announced this July.

Summa will pay approximately $840 million on a debt- and cash-free basis, according to Fortum, which says it will record a tax-exempt capital gain of about $190 million.

When the transaction was announced in July, Summa described the Fortum assets it would acquire as consisting of “municipal and industrial waste management and end-to-end plastics, metals, ash, slag and hazardous waste treatment and recycling services.”

The recycling and waste assets are located in Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Norway and employ approximately 900 people, according to Summa.

Fortum calls the divestment of its recycling and waste business as part of a strategic review of its Circular Solutions business segment. That review continues pertaining to its battery recycling and United Kingdom-based waste-to-energy business, says Fortum.

Founded in 2016, Summa Equity describes itself as “an impact investor focusing on three thematic areas: resource efficiency, changing demographics and tech-enabled transformation. The three Summa funds have approximately $5.25 billion in assets under management and have made more than 30 investments to date, according to the Swedish firm.