M&A: EQT Private Equity Acquires Sustainability Software Provider AMCS

Private equity firm EQT has acquired AMCS, a provider of SaaS-based applications that help customers with their waste management, recycling and sustainability strategies. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

This is M&A deal number 253 that Sustainable Tech Partner has covered so far in 2024. Related: See all M&A deals involving sustainability, climate tech and green IT services listed here.

AMCS: Sustainability Software Business Focus

AMCS, founded in 2003, is based in Ireland. The company -- backed by more than 1,300 employees across Europe, North America, Australia and Asia -- serves over 3,800 customers.

AMCS develops SaaS-based applications for "resource-intensive" industries -- including waste management, recycling, transportation, manufacturing, and utilities.

Key AMCS software use cases include Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), recycling, transport, EHSQ (Environment, Health, Safety, and Quality) and ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) capabilities. That software helps customers to develop and manage circular supply chains, while addressing regulatory and sustainability reporting requirements, EQT said.

Earlier Acquisitions: AMCS has grown both organically and through M&A. For example, AMCS acquired FigBytes for carbon accounting software in 2023, and Quentic for SaaS-based EHSQ and ESG software in 2022. Overall, AMCS completed nearly two-dozen acquisitions since 2011.

Outside investors have backed AMCS for quite some time. For instance, Insight Partners invested in AMCS in 2018 and 2015.

Amid the EQT deal, Insight Partners will remain a minority investor in AMCS -- as well the software company's co-founder, certain management team members, and third-party investors such as Clearlake Capital, Highland Europe and the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund, according to EQT.

EQT: Sustainability and Climate Tech Investments

EQT, founded in 1994, is based in Stockholm, Sweden and has offices worldwide. The company's private equity arm had 57 portfolio companies as of August 2024. Typical investments range from €125 million to €1.5 billion (US$138 million to US$1.65 billion). On the sustainability front, EQT’s strategy often involves the EQT Foundation and EQT Future investment vehicles.

Example EQT investments and acquisitions in and around the sustainability and climate tech markets include:

• November 2023: EQT Infrastructure IV acquired battery storage and green hydrogen specialist Statera Energy from InfraRed Capital Partners. The purchase price was not disclosed, but that deal was valued at roughly £500 million (US$620 million), Bloomberg reported.
• June 2023: EQT Ventures backed evroc, a startup that is striving to build Europe's first sovereign hyperscale cloud business that leverages sustainable energy.
• March 2023: EQT Growth fund invested in IntegrityNext, a sustainability software provider that enables supply chain transparency and regulatory compliance.

See EQT's current investment portfolio here.

EQT Acquires AMCS: Executive Perspectives

In a prepared statement about the deal, AMCS Co-Founder and CEO Jimmy Martin said: “On behalf of AMCS, I'd like to express our deepest gratitude to EQT, for aligning with our vision of empowering sustainability for organizations globally and championing the circular economy. Their backing is instrumental in supporting the transformative work we do. I’d like to also thank our dedicated, long-standing investors Insight Partners, Clearlake Capital, Highland Europe and the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund. These pillars of our capital structure have shown once again their unwavering faith in AMCS through their renewed support. Our shared commitment with our investors is the fuel that drives AMCS to solidify our pivotal role as a leader in Performance Sustainability.”

Added Robert Maclean, a partner in the EQT Private Equity advisory team: “We have followed the progress of AMCS closely for many years and have been hugely impressed by what it has achieved, establishing itself as a clear market leader and delivering continuous innovation on behalf of its customers. We strongly believe that AMCS has a fantastic opportunity to further support the circular economy and drive a greater share of recycling within the waste industry. We are very pleased to be partnering with AMCS’ co-founder and CEO Jimmy Martin as well as his entire team, to deliver on an exciting shared vision for growth.”

Noted Simon Griffiths, head of the EQT Future advisory team: “Our investment in AMCS is strongly aligned with EQT Future’s focus on leading businesses where the market opportunity and the very strong decarbonisation impact angle support a long-term investment horizon. We believe that AMCS is clearly positioned to be a long-term winner as the world shifts to a circular economy, and we look forward to supporting AMCS to help drive this trend and deliver on its growth ambitions."

Concluded Richard Wells, managing director at Insight Partners, said: “Since our initial investment in 2015, Insight has had the privilege of supporting AMCS as it scaled into a global market leader driving positive change towards a more circular economy. We look forward to deepening our support of AMCS, led by founder and CEO Jimmy Martin, in partnership with EQT as the business continues to innovate and grow."

Meanwhile, Insight Partners continues to invest in numerous ClimateTech startups. For instance: In early 2024, Insight Partners led Bluewhite's Series C funding round for $39 million. Bluewhite is an agricultural Robot-as-a-Service (RaaS) for autonomous farming.