Licella Holdings (Licella), pioneers in chemical recycling, has completed the merger of its subsidiary iQ Renew Pty Ltd (iQR) with Stop Waste, owner and operator of recycling facilities in Australia.
iQR will be one of the first companies globally to combine physical and chemical recycling, at a time when the world is searching for new recycling pathways following China’s effective ban on imported foreign waste.
In CY2018, Stop Waste made earnings before tax, interest, depreciation and amortisation of approximately $9 million and totals 60 people (employees and contractors). Through the merger, Licella have a pathway to earn up to 32 per cent of the iQR business. As part of the overall transaction share swap, Stop Waste Holdings, owners of Stop Waste, have also made an investment into Licella.
iQR now owns and operates the portfolio of Material Recovery Facilities and secondary processing facilities on the NSW Central Coast, an hour north of Sydney, Australia. These facilities include two for primary recycling (sorting), and two for secondary recycling (processing single streams for re-manufacture).
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Combined, iQR’s facilities process over 100,000 tonnes per annum of recovered resources, collected kerbside by councils.
iQR plan to fund and build a commercial scale Cat-HTR plant in the next 18 months, which will process end-of-life plastics and tyres in Australia and New Zealand.
Licella and iQR’s new global joint venture, iQ Renew Wood Recycling, also offers an opportunity to extract value from construction and demolition (C&D) wood waste.
As part of the partnership, Danial Gallagher, founder of Stop Waste, has been appointed CEO of iQR, and will also join the Licella board as a non-executive director.
“I am an absolute believer in the Cat-HTR technology and this was a key driver in the decision to merge Stop Waste with iQ Renew,” Mr Gallagher said.
“We continue to expand our recycling business into exciting new areas, including construction and demolition wood waste, driving innovation, maximising value and minimising waste in resource recovery.”
Licella CEO Dr Len Humphreys said he was pleased to have completed such a significant transaction.