This article was displayed on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove (MM) site at 5:03 p.m. on May 26, 2026.
Private equity fund (PEF) manager E&F Private Equity (E&F PE) has completed its acquisition of waste landfill operator KES Environmental Development.
According to the investment banking (IB) industry on the 26th, E&F PE paid the acquisition price to JC Partners earlier this month to close the acquisition of KES Environmental Development. Hanwha Investment & Securities and KB Kookmin Bank were said to have jointly arranged the acquisition financing in the process. The sell-down of the acquisition financing (secondary sale after the acquisition) is currently underway.
On Mar. 24, E&F PE signed a stock purchase agreement (SPA) to acquire about 80% equity of KES Environmental Development from existing major shareholder JC Partners. The enterprise value (EV) agreed by both sides is said to be around 200 billion won.
KES Environmental Development is a waste landfill operator located in Seokpo-ri, Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province. As the only private landfill in the Seoul metropolitan area, it has been valued as a highly scarce asset. The currently approved landfill capacity is 1.8 million ㎥, but it can be expanded to up to 2.5 million ㎥. It is also analyzed that the stringent permitting requirements for landfills in the metropolitan area are reflected in the enterprise value.
The landfill completed phase one at the end of last year. Phase two is scheduled for Aug., and phase three in June next year. JC Partners raised about 100 billion won in 2023 through project financing (PF) to build the Seokpo-ri landfill. JC Partners is said to have pushed for a sale as landfill unit prices rose and expansion of the landfill became visible.
E&F PE is a PEF manager specialized in investments in the waste and environment sector. It has successively acquired and sold environment corporations such as Koentec, Corentech, and Saehan Environment. With this acquisition of KES Environmental Development, it is being evaluated to have additionally secured a scarce infrastructure asset in the metropolitan area.
However, the composition of limited partners in the acquisition fund could change going forward. Asset manager A is said to have planned to form a consortium with E&F PE to acquire KES Environmental Development. But when a financial company participates as the general partner (GP) that exercises voting rights of the acquisition fund, it must obtain approval from the Financial Services Commission. Whether a co-GP will emerge is expected to be decided depending on the Financial Services Commission's approval, slated for the third quarter of this year.