Pinsent Masons has advised DCC plc, the leading international sales, marketing and business support services group, on the disposal of its Environmental division to Exponent, a leading private equity firm.

The enterprise value for the transaction is £219 million, on a debt-free, cash-free basis. The Environmental division comprises the British businesses, William Tracey Group, Oakwood Fuels and Wastecycle and its Irish business, Enva. DCC Environmental is active in the treatment and recycling of non-hazardous and hazardous waste in Britain and Ireland.

Corporate partner Andrew Kerr led the Pinsent Masons team, with support from Joanna Jowitt, Joshua Willis and Andrew Senior and from Georgie Messent and Philippa Godwin from the environmental team.

Commenting on the transaction, Andrew Kerr said:

“We were delighted to act for DCC on this transaction, particularly as we had acted on a number of their environmental acquisitions over the years and provided specialist environmental support to the Group.” 

Tommy Breen, Chief Executive of DCC plc, said:

“We are pleased to announce the profitable sale of the Environmental division. The business has performed strongly in recent years and we expect it to continue to grow and develop under the ownership of Exponent. I would like to thank all of the dedicated employees of DCC Environmental who have contributed to the success of the division under DCC’s ownership.

The disposal of the Environmental division brings sharpened strategic focus to the Group and will allow DCC to concentrate fully on growing and developing the Energy, Healthcare and Technology divisions where DCC has been actively deploying development capital in recent years.”

The transaction is expected to complete in the quarter to 30 June 2017, following receipt of competition clearance from the Irish competition authority.