SK Capital Acquires Milestone Environmental Services
NEW YORK, NY and HOUSTON, TX – October 4, 2023 – SK Capital Partners (“SK Capital”), a New York-based private investment firm focused on the specialty materials, ingredients, and life sciences sectors, today announced that its affiliates have completed the acquisition of Milestone Environmental Services, LLC (“Milestone” or the “Company”), a leading environmental services and carbon management company, from Amberjack Capital Partners, L.P.
SK Capital has taken a controlling stake in Milestone in partnership with President and CEO Gabriel Rio, who will continue to serve in that role and retain significant ownership in the Company. Mr. Rio founded Milestone in 2014 and, alongside a strong management team and dedicated employee base, the Company has become the largest independent provider of waste management services and an emerging leader in permanent carbon sequestration services to the United States energy and industrial sectors.
Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Milestone operates a leading integrated network of waste management infrastructure that reduces its customers’ carbon impact by permanently sequestering hydrocarbon-containing energy waste, preventing greenhouse gas emissions and water and ground contamination. Since 2014, Milestone has sequestered more than 2 million tons of CO2e through its proprietary slurry injection process.
In addition to expanding its leadership in existing markets, Milestone has the strategy, capabilities, and operating track record to play a major role in the rapidly growing Carbon Capture and Sequestration (“CCS”) market, a critical component of addressing global climate change. Leveraging its core competencies in waste sequestration, complex permitting and regulatory compliance, subsurface rights leasing, and geology analysis, Milestone’s CCS subsidiary, Milestone Carbon, is focused on enabling a broad range of industrial CO2 emitters to meet their decarbonization goals by developing and operating injection sites that permanently and securely sequester CO2. Milestone Carbon has several CCS projects under development and recently announced significant progress in its Midland Basin project.
Jack Norris, a Managing Director of SK Capital, stated, “We are highly impressed with the market-leading, sustainability-driven business that Gabriel and the Milestone management team have built. It is well-positioned to further grow its core business in difficult-to-abate industries as environmental regulations become more stringent and Milestone’s customers are increasingly focused on meeting ambitious decarbonization targets. We are excited to partner with management to capture this growth opportunity as well as support its further progress towards becoming a leader in CCS and other related markets.”
Mr. Rio noted, “SK Capital’s industry and operating expertise and track record of successfully partnering with management teams to execute transformational strategies make it an ideal partner for Milestone at this phase of our journey. I am grateful to work with the premier management team in our industry, and we look forward to partnering with SK Capital to realize the shared vision we have for the Company.”
Mr. Rio added, “We founded Milestone to boldly advance sustainability in the energy industry and beyond. Our offerings enable companies to reduce their carbon footprint and enhance their ability to meet sustainability goals. Permanent, safe sequestration of carbon is an essential part of combating climate change, and Milestone has the strategy and capabilities to play a leading role in delivering solutions to multiple industries.”
Latham & Watkins LLP acted as legal counsel and Houlihan Lokey served as financial advisor to SK Capital. Committed debt financing was provided by Cerberus Business Finance, LLC. Goldman, Sachs & Company and White & Case acted as financial advisor and legal counsel, respectively, to Milestone.
About Milestone Environmental Services
Milestone Environmental Services, headquartered in Houston, Texas, is a leading environmental services and carbon management company and the largest independent energy waste sequestration company in the United States. Milestone operates a leading integrated network of waste infrastructure that reduces the carbon impact of its customers by permanently sequestering hydrocarbon waste over a mile below the surface, preventing greenhouse gas emissions and water and ground contamination. Since 2014, Milestone has sequestered more than 2 million tons of CO2e through its injection process. Its subsidiary, Milestone Carbon, is devoted to helping multiple types of emitters meet their decarbonization goals by developing and operating injection sites that permanently and securely sequester CO2 below the surface. For more information, please visit www.milestone-es.com.
About SK Capital Partners
SK Capital is a private investment firm with a disciplined focus on the specialty materials, ingredients, and life sciences sectors. The firm seeks to build resilient, sustainable, and growing businesses that create substantial long-term economic value. SK Capital aims to utilize its industry, operating, and investment experience to identify opportunities to transform businesses into higher performing organizations with improved strategic positioning, growth, and profitability, as well as lower operating risk. SK Capital’s portfolio of businesses generates revenues of approximately $17 billion annually, employs more than 25,000 people globally, and operates more than 200 plants in over 30 countries. The firm currently has approximately $7.9 billion in assets under management. For more information, please visit www.skcapitalpartners.com.