NEW BUSINESS AND ASSET MANAGMENT NEW BUSINESS AND ASSET MANAGMENT

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2019

Business Combinations [Abstract]

NEW BUSINESS AND ASSET MANAGEMENT

Green Investment Group Limited Joint Venture

Rookery EfW

In March 2019, we reached financial close on the Rookery South Energy Recovery Facility (“Rookery”), a 1,600 metric ton-per-day, 60 megawatt EfW facility under construction in Bedfordshire, England. Rookery is our second investment in the UK with our strategic partner, Green Investment Group Limited (“GIG”). Through a 50/50 jointly-owned and governed entity (“Covanta Green”), we and GIG own an 80% interest in the project. We co-developed the project with Veolia ES (UK) Limited (“Veolia”), who owns the remaining 20%. We provide technical oversight during construction and will provide operations and maintenance (“O&M”) services for the facility, and Veolia will be responsible for supplying at least 70% of the waste processing capacity. The facility is expected to commence commercial operations in 2022.

In connection with the transaction, we received $44 million (£34 million) of total consideration for the value of our development costs incurred to date and related fees, and for GIG’s right to invest 40% in the project (50% investment in Covanta Green). For the nine months ended September 30, 2019, as a result of this consideration and a step-up in the fair value of our retained equity

investment, we recorded a gain of $57 million in Net gain on sale of business and investments in our condensed consolidated statement of operations. As of September 30, 2019, $22 million of the consideration received remains in Covanta Green, and as such this amount is included in Prepaid expenses and other current assets and our $8 million equity method investment is included in Other assets in our condensed consolidated balance sheet. The fair value of our retained equity investment in Covanta Green was determined by the fair value of the consideration received from GIG for the right to invest 40% in the project.

Dublin EfW

In February 2018, we completed our first investment with GIG, Covanta Europe Assets Limited, which is structured as a 50/50 jointly-owned and governed entity between Covanta and GIG. As an initial step, we contributed 100% of our Dublin EfW project ("Dublin EfW") to the entity, and GIG acquired a 50% ownership in the entity. We retained a 50% equity interest in the entity and retained our role as O&M service provider for the facility. We received gross proceeds of $167 million ($98 million, net of existing restricted cash), which we used to repay borrowings under our Revolving Credit Facility. The sale resulted in our loss of a controlling interest in Dublin EfW, which required the entity to be deconsolidated from our financial statements as of the sale date. For the nine months ended September 30, 2018, we recorded a gain on the loss of a controlling interest of the business of $204 million which is included in Net gain on sale of business and investments on our condensed consolidated statement of operations. The gain resulted from the excess of proceeds received plus the fair value of our non-controlling interest in Dublin EfW over our carrying value.

Our 50% equity interest is accounted for under the equity method of accounting. As of September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018, our equity investment of $139 million and $149 million, respectively, is included in Other assets on our condensed consolidated balance sheet. The fair value of our investment was determined by the fair value of the consideration received for the 50% acquired by GIG. There were no basis differences between the fair value of the acquired investment and the carrying amounts of the underlying net assets as they were fair valued contemporaneously as of the sale date.

Divestiture of Springfield and Pittsfield EfW facilities

During the second quarter of 2019, as part of our ongoing asset rationalization and portfolio optimization efforts, we divested our Pittsfield and Springfield EfW facilities. During the first quarter, we determined that the assets and liabilities associated with these facilities met the criteria for classification as assets held for sale, but did not meet the criteria for classification as discontinued operations as this sale did not represent a strategic shift in our business. During the nine months ended September 30, 2019, we recognized a loss of $11 million, which is included in Net gain on sale of business and investments in our condensed consolidated statement of operations.