The European Commission has approved the establishment of a joint venture between Equitix Holdings Limited and KKR & Co. Inc. under the European Union’s Merger Regulation. This decision, adopted on 24 February 2026, followed a notification by the two firms seeking regulatory clearance to proceed with their cooperative venture in the resource recovery, waste management and plastic recycling markets. The approval was issued after reviewing the transaction under the Commission’s simplified merger review procedure, which is used when a deal is unlikely to harm competition within the European Economic Area (EEA). 

In its assessment, the Commission determined that the joint venture would not raise competition concerns because Equitix and KKR do not operate in the same market segments nor in vertically linked areas that could lead to market dominance or anticompetitive effects. As a result, the regulatory authority concluded that the deal could proceed without restrictions. This clearance allows the partners to formalize their joint venture and begin collaboration in the identified sectors, which are increasingly important given the EU’s broader policy focus on sustainability and circular economy development, particularly in plastic recycling and waste management.