Tiger Infrastructure Partners Completes Transformational Growth Investment In Bolder Industries, a Circular-Economy Infrastructure Platform Converting End-Of-Life Tires into Sustainable Materials

USA - English

• USA - English

NEW YORK and LONDON, Feb. 10, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Tiger Infrastructure Partners ("Tiger Infrastructure" or the "Firm") today announced a transformational growth investment in Bolder Industries ("Bolder" or the "Company"), a circular-economy infrastructure platform that is a first mover in meeting a critical market need for sustainable materials for the rubber, plastic and petrochemical industries.  Tiger Infrastructure is partnering with Bolder to provide growth capital to enable the buildout of new facilities.

Bolder's existing operating facility in Maryville, Missouri has commercialized its proprietary process for transforming end-of-life tires into recovered carbon black, an essential raw material in tires, rubber, and plastics for which demand is growing globally. The Company's BolderBlack^® products help some of the largest brands in the world increase their use of sustainable materials and are currently found in such varied applications as tires, wetsuits, roofing products, belts, hoses, construction piping, phone cases, and automotive parts.

Bolder also produces pyrolysis oil (BolderOil^®) which has applications in renewable fuels, carbon black oil, process oils, solvents and petrochemicals, providing unique circularity features for their respective markets.

Bolder is currently constructing a second facility in Terre Haute, Indiana, to scale production, and has a third facility under development in Antwerp, Belgium.  The Company's Belgium facility will be located in the NextGen District of the Port of Antwerp, which hosts other circular economy projects. Bolder has plans to develop additional sites after Terre Haute and Antwerp.

Emil W. Henry, Jr., Tiger Infrastructure CEO & CIO, stated, "As an innovator in the production of recovered carbon black and pyrolysis oil, we believe that Bolder is in a prime position to capitalize on growing demand for validated, cost-effective circular economy products from end-of-life tires. Bolder has been at the forefront in demonstrating the ability to consistently produce high-quality products for some of the most discerning global consumer brands."  

Joe Clemente, Tiger Infrastructure Managing Director, added "We have been impressed by Tony Wibbeler, Founder and CEO, and his team. They are among the leaders in this emerging sector where there are very few players with the expertise and track record in developing these essential infrastructure projects."

"We are thrilled to partner with Tiger Infrastructure in our next phase of growth," said Tony Wibbeler, Founder and CEO of Bolder. "Tiger Infrastructure is our partner of choice because they were a first mover in growth infrastructure and possess a successful track record in scaling infrastructure platforms like ours. Further, they have a valuable operating partner network and a unique transatlantic footprint that can help us grow our current and planned asset base in both the US and Europe. There is robust market demand globally for our products and we are excited to leverage Tiger Infrastructure's expertise in building the infrastructure of tomorrow."

According to the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, over 1 billion end-of-life tires are generated annually. An increasing number are discarded in landfills which negatively impacts the environment. The number of landfilled tires in the U.S. has increased by 19% from 2021 to 2023 (per the U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association) and analysts project that industry trends will only reduce the useful life of tires going forward. These trends emphasize the need for Bolder's circular, supply-side solution.

Bolder has secured patents relating to its technology and existing operations, as well as both feedstock supply and product offtake at both of its new facilities. Each new location is designed to recycle more than 4 million end-of-life tires annually.

A combination of supportive public policy and regulation as well as the circularity and sustainability goals of many consumer-facing companies, including large tire, rubber and plastics firms, is helping to drive demand for Bolder's products. Bolder expects to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 85% compared to the competing traditional products.

Latham & Watkins LLP served as legal advisor to Tiger Infrastructure. King & Spalding served as legal advisor and Greenhill, a Mizuho affiliate, served as financial advisor to Bolder.

About Tiger Infrastructure Partners
Tiger Infrastructure Partners is an innovative private equity firm focused on providing transformational growth capital to middle market infrastructure companies. Tiger Infrastructure's value-add approach targets growth investments across the Digital Infrastructure, Energy Transition and Transportation sectors in North America and Europe, where Tiger Infrastructure believes strong tailwinds are driving demand for new infrastructure. Tiger Infrastructure maintains offices in New York and London.

SOURCE Tiger Infrastructure Partners