ecoATM, LLC (“ecoATM” or the “Company”), the leading automated kiosk direct-to-consumer electronic device trade-in company, announced today that Cowen Sustainable Advisors (“CSI”), a division of Cowen Inc. (NASDAQ: COWN), has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire a significant minority stake in the business for $200 million from certain funds (the “Apollo Funds”) managed by affiliates of Apollo Global Management, Inc. (NYSE: APO) (together with its consolidated subsidiaries, "Apollo").

Upon the closing of the transaction, which is expected later this month, Vusal Najafov and Ewa Kozicz, Co-Heads of CSI, will join the Board of Directors of ecoATM, providing strategic guidance particularly with regard to growth and sustainability. The Apollo Funds will remain the majority owner of ecoATM and CEO Dave Maquera, along with the existing management team, will continue to lead the business.

“We are extremely pleased to have CSI as a co-sponsor alongside Apollo and welcome Vusal and Ewa to our board,” said Dave Maquera.

“The CSI team has a deep understanding of the potential of ecoATM and of the significant impact our company has on sustainability factors throughout the consumer electronics vertical. By giving the consumer a fast, efficient and trusted means to recycle smartphones for cash, ecoATM delivers an assurance that the devices will not contribute to 'e-waste' or end up in landfills.”

“ecoATM has a significant economic, environmental and social value proposition given that it extends the useful lives of mobile phones while creating affordable mobile access for the growing world population,” said Ewa Kozicz, Co-Head of CSI. “By enabling phone reuse and reducing manufacture of new phones, we believe that the Company can prevent the generation of substantial amounts of greenhouse gas emissions each year. We look forward to supporting ecoATM’s continued growth on a global scale.”

“We have been thrilled with the progress made by the ecoATM management team to establish the company as an innovator in the consumer electronic device reCommerce industry,” said David Sambur, Chairman of the Board of ecoATM and Co-Lead Partner of Private Equity at Apollo.

“Underpinned by its differentiated AI and robotics technology, ecoATM has grown significantly over the last several years by offering consumers a seamless automated trade-in experience.”

“We identified early on that ecoATM had significant growth potential, but also that consumer and industry priorities regarding the environment and sustainability would align with the value proposition of this unique company,” said Reed Rayman, Partner at Apollo.

“CSI is a tremendous ally for us given their unique toolkit of expertise and experience in sustainability, data analytics, and real asset operation and securitization, which aligns with the Company’s business model and growth objectives.”

ecoATM currently owns and operates approximately 4,300 automated kiosks in retail locations across the United States, and 54 kiosks in the U.K. and Germany as it begins its expansion into Europe. The kiosks allow customers to quickly, conveniently and safely sell their pre-owned mobile devices for cash, which in turn allows these devices to be reused by consumers domestically and around the world. Every year approximately 60 million mobile phones are retired without being reused or recycled in the U.S. alone, and it is the Company’s mission to expand its presence and deploy new technologies and channels to normalize consumer resale and reuse, and help protect the planet from the harmful impacts of e-waste and smartphone manufacturing. Since its acquisition by Apollo in September 2016, ecoATM has expanded its kiosk footprint by almost 2,000 kiosks, which allowed the Company to purchase and resell over 5 million used mobile devices in 2019.

With the proceeds of a $150 million debt facility it closed in January 2020, the Company plans to continue to invest in its kiosk footprint and technology, expanding its kiosk network across the United States and Europe. The Company generates revenue by reselling used mobile devices to wholesale channels and directly to retail customers through its online Gazelle.com platform and other online marketplaces.

Guggenheim Securities LLC and The Raine Group served as financial advisors and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP acted as legal advisor to ecoATM and Apollo. Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP acted as legal advisor to CSI.