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Jan 11, 2021 - Economy & Business

Platinum Equity seeks buyer for porta-potty, hand-wash station provider

Dan Primack
a toilet paper roll with dollar signs on it

Illustration: Eniola Odetunde/Axios

Platinum Equity is seeking a buyer for United Site Services (USS), a Westborough, Massachusetts-based portable toilet and hand-wash station provider, per Reuters. The company could fetch around $4 billion, including debt.

Why it matters: USS is the country's largest porta-potty purveyor, with a product line that ranges from luxurious to stomach-churning. It's also another successful pandemic pivot story, as the growth of its hand-wash business appears to have more than offset losses related to the dearth of in-person events.

  • Return on investment: USS was valued at just $1.15 billion when Platinum bought it in mid-2017 from Calera Capital.

The bottom line: "The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the growth of the hand wash stations industry, with the market seen growing from $919.4 million in 2019 to almost $1.5 billion by 2027, according to research firm ResearchAndMarkets," Reuters notes.

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