Barings, one of the world’s leading investment management firms, announced today that it has provided a sustainability-linked senior secured financing to support private equity firm Ridgemont Equity Partners’ growth investment in Northstar Recycling Company, LLC (“Northstar” or the “Company”). Headquartered in East Longmeadow, MA, Northstar is an asset-light provider of sustainability-oriented managed waste and recycling solutions to leading food, consumer packaged goods, and other industrial clients. The Company serves multi-facility manufacturers and distributors with a centralized solution to manage and divert industrial waste streams into beneficial reuse applications to achieve zero-waste-to-landfill and related sustainability goals. Financial terms were not disclosed.

A first for Barings’ North American Global Private Finance team, the sustainability-linked financing provides a framework for Northstar to achieve borrower favorable incentives following an annual review of its performance relative to five pre-defined ESG criteria, one of which is based on the annual tonnage successfully diverted away from landfills into reuse applications.

“We are committed to investing in high quality businesses led by innovative management teams and backed by top-tier financial sponsors,” said Patrick Hartman, Managing Director in Barings’ North American Global Private Finance Group. “With the inclusion of the ESG criteria in this financing, we are able to align Barings’ commitment to integrating ESG into our investment philosophy with Northstar’s value proposition of encouraging responsible and sustainable manufacturing practices.”

“Northstar’s fundamental value proposition to its customers is a comprehensive solution for diverting industrial waste streams away from landfills into more sustainable outlets, while also providing enhanced tracking and reporting of waste diversion outcomes through the Company’s proprietary technology platform,” said Ryan Jack, Principal at Ridgemont. “Like Barings, Ridgemont is committed to integrating ESG initiatives into our business practices and investment processes, and our recent partnership with Northstar is exemplary of our focus on thematic investing in sustainability-oriented business models.  We are excited to partner with Barings in this innovative financing structure and establish further stakeholder alignment by promoting environmentally sustainable economic activity and growth.”

In addition to Barings, Cliffwater Corporate Lending Fund is a co-lender in the sustainability-linked financing.
 

About Barings

Barings is a $382+ billion* global investment manager sourcing differentiated opportunities and building long-term portfolios across public and private fixed income, real estate, and specialist equity markets. With investment professionals based in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific, the firm, a subsidiary of MassMutual, aims to serve its clients, communities and employees, and is committed to sustainable practices and responsible investment.

*As of June 30, 2021
 

About Ridgemont Equity Partners

Ridgemont Equity Partners is a Charlotte-based middle market buyout and growth equity investor. Since 1993, the principals of Ridgemont have invested over $5.5 billion. The firm focuses on equity investments up to $250 million and utilizes a proven, industry-focused investment approach and repeatable value creation strategies. Ridgemont’s most recent flagship fund, REP III, was formed in 2018 and has $1.65 billion of committed capital.
 

About Northstar Recycling Company

Northstar is an asset-light provider of sustainability-oriented managed waste and recycling solutions to leading food, consumer packaged goods, and other industrial clients. The Company helps its customers recycle more and landfill less by diverting organic and other waste streams from landfills into a variety of beneficial reuse applications with the support of its robust network of recycling outlet partners. Northstar’s proprietary technology platform provides enhanced reporting and analytics capabilities that enable clients to track sustainability-oriented initiatives and value recovery outcomes in real-time.