The acquisition of the three waste collection concessionaires in the capital city Sofia by the private equity firm Equest is priced at EUR 45mn with a clause for additional payment of EUR 10mn depending on financial results in 2007, Dow Jones business wire reads. Equest will complete the takeover in a partnership with Austria ’s private equity firm AMC (Accession Mezzanine Capital). The new owners will pay EUR 25mn and EUR 20mm respectively, according to sources of Dow Jones. Equest has signed a preliminary deal for full-scale acquisition of the three waste collection concessionaires at the end of last year and has reportedly wired an advance payment of EUR 5mn. The three concessionaires have contracts for nearly all districts of Sofia by 2014. The three firms have been in control of the local tycoon Rumen Gaitanksi by now. Equest has become the first or second largest private equity investor in the country with roughly equal value of assets to those held by the US fund Gramercy. The local portfolio of Equest includes real estates, financial companies, retail stores, and many other businesses.