UK's Biffa to buy collections business, some recycling assets from KKR's Viridor for $179 million

(Reuters) -Biffa said on Friday it would buy the collections business and certain recycling assets from Viridor Waste Management Ltd for 126 million pounds ($178.87 million), as the waste-management specialist solidifies its position in the UK.

With public pressure mounting to reduce global waste, companies around the world have committed to improve recycling and reduce carbon emissions, boosting their credentials with investors and the general public.

Viridor is owned by U.S. private equity firm KKR and Reuters in October had reported that KKR had hired investment bank UBS to sell its waste and recycling subsidiary.

London-listed Biffa expects synergy opportunities of at least 10 million pounds to be delivered within a period of 12-18 months from completion, which is expected no earlier than August.

"The addition of Viridor's 85 million-pound collections revenues builds on the group's strong track record as the leading market consolidator in the highly fragmented Industrial and Commercial collections market," Biffa Chief Executive Michael Topham said.

Early last year, British water utility Pennon had sold its waste-management business Viridor to KKR for 4.2 billion pounds.

($1 = 0.7044 pounds)

(Reporting by Aby Jose Koilparambil in Bengaluru; editing by Uttaresh.V)