M&A: Full Circle Electronics Acquires IT Asset Disposition (ITAD), Recycling Business GER

Full Circle Electronics, backed by investment firm Tide Rock, has acquired IT Asset Disposition (ITAD) specialist Global Electronics Recycling (GER). Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

This is M&A deal number 252 that Sustainable Tech Partner has covered so far in 2024. Moreover, M&A activity in the ITAD market remains steady to strong. Related: See all M&A deals involving sustainability, climate tech and green IT services listed here.

IT Asset Disposition (ITAD) M&A: About This Deal

Full Circle Electronics, based in Phoenix, Arizona, launched in 2018 when the company acquired Westech Recyclers. Key services offered include electronics recycling, planned data destruction, ITAD, asset remarketing, auditing and reporting.

Tide Rock has owned Full Circle since September 2022. The buyout firm typically acquires B2B (business to business) companies that have annual EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) of $2 million to $7 million. Tide Rock, founded in 2013, is based in Solana Beach, California.

Global Electronics Recycling (GER), founded in 1998, is based in Phoenix, Arizona. The company as of August 2024 had 12 employees listed on LinkedIn, though we don't know actual headcount figures for the business. GER's ITAD services include a revenue sharing model for precious medal recovery.

This is Full Circle's second acquisition in the past year or so. The earlier deal involved buying ITAD capabilities from SIPI Asset Recovery in October 2023.

Full Circle Acquires Phoenix IT Recycling Business

In a prepared statement about the deal, Tide Rock President Mark Papp said: "The addition of GER further bolsters the national footprint we established in the electronics recycling space with the growth of Full Circle Electronics over the last two years. The companies have several immediate synergies that mutually benefit enterprise customers and prospects, particularly in the communications and aerospace and defense industries."

Added Full Circle CEO Tracey Haslam: "Our mission has always been to better serve the growing IT and electronics asset disposition market by providing a safe, secure, and sustainable electronics recycling solution, and we certainly see that same mission reflected in the GER business. Our combined services will better serve enterprise customers, large and small, across industries in the Phoenix area and further scale opportunities nationwide."

GER executives were not quoted in the M&A announcement.

ITAD Market Growth Forecast, M&A Activity

Full Circle's ITAD focus is easily explained: Amid a quest for sustainable IT services and e-waste reduction, annual spending on ITAD is expected to reach $34 billion by 2030, up from $16.8 billion in 2022, according to Research and Markets. That's a 9.2% compound annual growth rate (CAGR), the researcher said.

More ITAD M&A Deals: M&A activity within the ITAD market has been steady to strong. Buyers in the sector include Apkudo, Closed Loop Partners, Elemental Holding, Iron Mountain, Quantum Lifecycle Partners, S3 Recycling Solutions, and TD Synnex, among others.

Venture capital has also flowed into the market. In July 2024, for instance, Microsoft’s Climate Innovation Fund invested in Cyclic Materials, a startup that serves ITAD companies and improves hard drive recycling processes.