Ardian, a private investment company based in France, has announced that it is acquiring 100% of Attero, a leading Dutch integrated waste management and recycling company. The transaction is conditional on the works council consultation and on receiving clearance from the European Commission under the EU Merger Regulation and is expected to be completed in Q4 2023.
Attero was acquired by its current owners, 3i Infrastructure and DWS Group, in 2018, with 3i Infrastructure holding a 25% stake and its co-investors - funds managed by DWS and other funds managed by 3i Investments plc holding interests of 50% and 25%, respectively.
Net proceeds from the sale will be approximately €215 million, said 3i Infrastructure, which represents a 31% uplift from the valuation of €164 million at 31 March 2023. The sale proceeds will be used to partially repay drawings on 3i Infrastructure’s revolving credit facility.
Headquartered in Wilp, the Netherlands, Attero offers an integrated platform that helps to address energy independence and decarbonisation challenges. The company processes 3.6mt of waste from municipalities and businesses. It owns two of the largest and most efficient energy-from-waste (“EfW”) plants in Western Europe, anaerobic digestion plants for biomethane production, composting facilities, mineral recycling and depository locations. The company generates more than 800 GWh of renewable electricity, equivalent to powering 300,000 homes, as well as 22m m3 of green gas.
Attero was also one of the first in the Netherlands to offer post-collection separation. The organic material in the waste is screened out for processing in the anaerobic digestion plants to produce green gas. Separators separate the plastics, metals and beverage cartons, which are then further sorted at the company’s packaging sorting plant.
The company also recycles up to 25,000 tonnes a year of waste plastic at its plastics recycling plant, which opened in 2019, where the plastics are shredded into flakes and cold and hot washed, powered by energy supplied by the waste-to-energy plant. These flakes are then extruded into regranulate.
Looking ahead, Attero is well positioned to take advantage of a number of growth opportunities, including carbon capture for its two EfW plants, material expansion of its anaerobic digestion business to capitalise on significant biomethane demand growth as the EU looks to reduce natural gas consumption. Ardian plans to support Attero’s renewable energy expansion via significant capex investments.
“We have been impressed by the operations and exceptional management team of Attero […]This investment further demonstrates our strategy of supporting leading infrastructure businesses and further expanding our commitments in the Netherlands,” said Daniel von der Schulenburg, head of Infrastructure Germany, Benelux and Northern Europe at Ardian.