Ares Management Acquires Burnham RNG

ARLINGTON, Va. — Burnham RNG (“Burnham” or the “Company”), a full-service developer and owner of organic waste management and anaerobic digestion biogas assets across the U.S., announced today that a fund managed by Ares Management’s Infrastructure Opportunities strategy (“Ares”) has made a strategic investment to acquire the Company from Edge Natural Resources (“Edge”). The investment from Ares, a leading infrastructure investor with approximately $15.1 billion in infrastructure equity and debt assets under management as of September 30, 2023, will support Burnham in the further development and construction of its broader pipeline of renewable natural gas (“RNG”) assets located throughout the U.S. The acquisition of Burnham follows Ares’ announcement of a strategic investment in Dynamic Renewables earlier this year and represents the group’s continued commitment to building scale in the waste-to-value space, supported by the development of strong projects diversified across feedstock type.

Founded in 2021, Burnham is a leading fully integrated origination, development, financing and asset management platform that provides waste recovery solutions focused on the wastewater and agricultural waste industries. The Company is the developer and owner of the Pasco Resource Recovery Center (“PRRC”) located in Pasco, Washington. PRRC is designed to treat an average of 4.4 million gallons of industrial wastewater sourced from six local food processors per day via anaerobic digestion and supplementary nitrogen reduction systems. After completion, the facility is expected to produce treated water for irrigation, as well as ~900 MMBtu/day of renewable natural gas. The asset has a 30-year wastewater treatment agreement with the City of Pasco and will sell produced RNG to Cascade Energy via a 20-year offtake agreement. In addition to PRRC, Burnham has a development pipeline comprised of several waste-to-biogas projects across the U.S.

Burnham is led by its Founder and Chief Executive Officer Chris Tynan, who has over two decades of experience in financing and developing infrastructure projects.

“Burnham is excited to work with Ares in its next chapter of growth,” said Mr. Tynan. “We are proud of the team and the business we have built to date and look forward to deploying more successful biogas projects in the wastewater segment and beyond alongside an experienced infrastructure investor in Ares.”

“The investment in Burnham further reinforces our commitment to providing our investors access to one of the most dynamic sectors of climate infrastructure,” said Andy Pike, Partner and Co-Head of Ares Infrastructure Opportunities. “We are focused on identifying companies that provide circular waste management solutions to critical industries, while at the same time producing a green fuel product in renewable natural gas. Burnham’s flagship asset in PRRC is a prime example of this, and we look forward to supporting the platform in developing its pipeline of projects and further delivering waste management solutions to the wastewater and agricultural end markets.”

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP served as legal counsel to Edge. Latham & Watkins LLP served as legal counsel to Ares.

About Burnham RNG

Burnham RNG is a wastewater and agricultural waste to renewable natural gas (RNG) provider that helps communities profitably reduce waste treatment costs while improving environmental outcomes. The company manages and reuses organic waste and wastewater and transforms it into RNG, clean water, and high-value soil additives. The company is led by professionals with decades of bioenergy experience and combines entrepreneurial flexibility with a commitment to operational excellence. Learn more about how Burnham RNG is turning waste into opportunity at www.burnhamrng.com.   

About Ares ManagementAres Management Corporation (NYSE: ARES) is a leading global alternative investment manager offering clients complementary primary and secondary investment solutions across the credit, private equity, real estate and infrastructure asset classes. We seek to provide flexible capital to support businesses and create value for our stakeholders and within our communities. By collaborating across our investment groups, we aim to generate consistent and attractive investment returns throughout market cycles. As of September 30, 2023, Ares Management Corporation’s global platform had approximately $395 billion of assets under management, with more than 2,800 employees operating across North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and the Middle East. For more information, please visit www.aresmgmt.com