STATE ENERGY company Bord na Móna is on the verge of closing a €4.5 million deal through its subsidiary, Advanced Environmental Systems (AES).

The subsidiary is in talks to buy the assets and business of Goff Recycling, a family-owned waste management business based near Rosslare, Co Wexford.

Goff Recycling is understood to be valued at about €4.5 million. Neither side would comment on the deal’s terms yesterday. The State company is buying Goff as a going concern. The Wexford company’s management said yesterday all 28 workers at its Kilrane plant in Rosslare would be kept on.

Director Damian Goff said the shareholders would not sell unless the workers’ jobs were guaranteed. Bord na Móna confirmed yesterday that all staff would keep their jobs if the sale goes through.

Mr Goff and his father, Francis Goff, are the sole shareholders. They established the business four years ago and the company is largely focused on recycling and diverting waste from landfill for other purposes.

The Goffs are already established in building and property development and have a range of interests in the Wexford region.

Bord na Móna confirmed yesterday it was in talks to buy the business. “It is expected that a deal will be complete by the end of this month,” it said.

The Department of Energy and Natural Resources will have to approve the deal before it can be finalised.

Bord na Móna bought AES last year. The company is planning to spend €1.4 billion over the next five years on developing its businesses and plans to refocus on alternative energy, recycling and resource recovery and horticulture. It is planning to build one of the biggest onshore wind farms in Europe at Oweninny, Co Mayo.

The Government established the company more than 60 years ago to exploit and manage the Republic’s peat bogs. However, this resource is due to run out over the next 20 years.