Cleanaway's Share Price Jumps 20% as Bid Talks With EQT Firm

By David Winning

SYDNEY--Cleanaway Waste Management's share price jumps 20% after the Australian trash collector agrees to be acquired by Swedish private-equity firm EQT for 6.94 billion Australian dollars, equivalent to $4.82 billion.

Cleanaway, which runs a series of treatment plants and landfill sites, agreed to a deal worth A$3.095 per share in cash some two months after disclosing to investors that it was a takeover target of EQT's infrastructure arm.

Cleanaway said its board may declare and pay a fully franked special dividend of up to A$0.19 per share before the deal completes. This payment would be deducted from the headline value of EQT's cash offer.

Cleanaway's share price rises to A$2.955 in early trading in Sydney on Monday. That puts the stock roughly on a par with where it traded in October before it steadily ratcheted lower until the EQT bid talks became known.

"The board has carefully assessed EQT's proposal against the value of Cleanaway on a standalone basis, including the opportunities ahead of us under Blueprint 2030 2.0 and the investment and execution required to deliver them," Cleanaway Chair Samantha Hogg said.

EQT, which had approximately $310 billion in total assets under management as of the end of March, operates across private capital, infrastructure, real estate and private wealth strategies. The firm invests in sectors including healthcare, technology, industrials and services, covering early-stage ventures to large-cap buyouts.

EQT manages a portfolio of more than 300 companies worldwide and operates through investment platforms in Europe, Asia and North America. Among assets owned by its infrastructure business is EdgeConneX, which earlier this year forged a partnership with ASX-listed Stockland to develop, own and operate data centers in Australia.

Write to David Winning at david.winning@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 18, 2026 20:50 ET (00:50 GMT)