Private equity firms have become good at bin diving, picking up companies discarded by other investors. A £1.36 billion approach for the waste collection group Biffa by the US private equity house Energy Capital Partners (ECP) is another tight-fisted swoop.
Cheap valuations make the London stock market prime hunting ground, one now more appealing due to the sell-off that has ensued from the war in Ukraine and rising inflation. ECP has proffered 445p a share after some back and forth with the company which, if made formal, the board would be minded to recommend. But investors should want them to hold out for more.
The mooted price represents a 37 per cent premium to the undisturbed share price, but that looks less meaty when
