Sims sells land in New Jersey

Australia-based metal and electronics recycler Sims Ltd. says it has sold 8.2 acres of land in Newark, New Jersey, for $31.5 million. The company says 85 percent of the proceeds will be received this December, with the balance received before the end of June 2023.

Sims says the sale “represents tangible progress in the company’s ongoing review of identifying unproductive or noncore assets for disposal and subsequently redeploying the proceeds to core growth assets.”

It puts into that same category its March sale of a 50.5 percent stake in Sims Municipal Recycling to a consortium led by New York-based Closed Loop Partners. It calls that transaction “an example of a noncore asset identified during this review process.” Those proceeds were recycled “to substantially fund the acquisitions of Recyclers Australia and Atlantic Recycling Group,” according to the company.

“The sale of this land in New Jersey demonstrates our commitment to disciplined capital management, and we will use the proceeds to fund core growth assets that deliver returns at or above our IRR hurdle of 15 percent,” Sims CEO and Managing Director Alistair Field says.

“Selling unproductive and non-core assets allows us to free up capital to continue funding transformative assets, such as the Pinkenba [Australia] land acquired in fiscal year 2021, without significantly changing our capital profile," Field adds. "We have achieved excellent outcomes through recycling capital and anticipate further divestments."