Month: March 2024

Eco Baltia plans to acquire Eko Osta, a company that collects and recycles hazardous waste

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Expanding the company’s activities and range of environmental services, the largest environmental resource management and recycling company in the Baltics, JSC (AS) Eco Baltiaplans to acquire Eko Osta Ltd. (SIA), Latvia’s leading collection and recycling company for environmentally harmful and hazardous waste. The purchase agreement concluded by the parties, which requires merger authorisation from the Latvian Competition Council (CC), provides for the acquisition of 100% of the shares in Eko Osta.

With the conclusion of the transaction, Eko Osta will become one of the companies in the environmental management sector of the Eco Baltia group, specialising in the management of hazardous and environmentally harmful waste. At the same time, it should be stressed that no changes are planned to the existing cooperation agreements and arrangements for both parties’ clients, partners and employees.

Mr Māris Simanovičs, Chairman of the Board of Eco Baltia: “In recent years, we have significantly expanded Eco Baltia’s areas of activity, strengthening our market position internationally as a full-cycle environmental resource manager. The inclusion of the environmentally harmful and hazardous waste collection and recycling company in the Eco Baltia Group is a significant step towards even faster development, covering an even more diverse waste stream to be recycled. The deal will ensure better collection and circulation of waste in segments where compliance with national standards has so far been difficult. This will benefit both the customers of the group company Latvijas Zaļais punkts in terms of meeting their environmentally harmful waste collection targets, and the country as a whole in meeting its recycling targets more successfully.“

Eko Osta will continue to cooperate with other participants in the producer responsibility system, promoting faster compliance with the national hazardous waste collection and recycling standards.

Andrejs Laškovs, the current shareholder of Eko Osta: “Eko Osta has been providing specific waste management and other services in Latvia for more than 20 years. This requires a special approach and precision in all company processes, ensuring that services are delivered to the highest environmental standards and to an excellent quality. As the environmental management sector develops not only nationally, but also internationally, we see great potential for growth in Eco Baltia’s portfolio of companies. This will benefit for both, the partners, customers and employees of Eko Osta, as well as the country as a whole, by contributing to a comprehensive reduction of negative environmental impacts.”

Eko Osta is engaged in the collection, transportation by floating and land vehicles, treatment and recycling of petroleum-contaminated water and soil, recycled lubricating oils, organic solvents, used oil filters and tyres, as well as geological, hydrogeological, geoecological and geotechnical research, environmental quality monitoring and environmental remediation. Eko Osta employs around 70 people and had a turnover of EUR 7.79 million in 2023.

Jānis Aizbalts, Head of Environmental Management, Eco Baltia Group: “Eco Baltia has experienced rapid development in the environmental sector in recent years. This included covering larger waste management regions and types of materials, as well as the development of recycled materials sorting in Latvia and Lithuania. Last year, we also expanded into urban environmental management, where the Group’s environmental company Eco Baltia vide has more than a decade of experience. The addition of Eko Osta to Eco Baltia’s existing portfolio allows us to take even greater steps to promote the circular economy in the country, while strengthening our market position as a full-cycle waste management and recycling group.“

The acquisition of the company is planned to be carried out through Eco Baltia’s subsidiary Latvijas Zaļais punkts. Financing of the transaction is planned by attracting bank funding, and the parties have agreed not to disclose the amount of the transaction publicly.

20.03.2024.

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Eco Baltia Group’s Lithuanian company Ecoservice investing €18 million to rebuild a sorting centre
UAB Ecoservice, the Lithuania-based waste management company of Eco Baltia, the largest environmental management and waste recycling group in the Baltics, is investing €18 million in the rebuilding the Vilnius Sorting Centre, which was devastated by a fire last year. The investment will also be used to improve the infrastructure of the sorting centre and modernise it to contribute more to the circular economy. The expected completion date for the project is the end of this year.

“We have made the decisions that were necessary for our company’s continued leadership, growth and next steps. After the fire that occurred last August, we immediately took action that helped us to continue our operations without interruptions and followed through on all our commitments to our clients and partners. Now is the time for us to take the next step; namely, to not only restore what was lost, but also to work more effectively by implementing the latest technologies and to improve fire safety,” said Jurgita Nacevičienė, CEO of Ecoservice.

Part of the investment is planned to be financed by UAB Ecoservice and its parent group companies and part by a bank loan.

“Our priority is to provide highest quality services to our clients in Lithuania and in other countries where we operate. We also aim to streamline production processes thereby contributing to the Group’s faster development in the international market. With a long-term perspective in mind, we have decided to finance the reconstruction of our sorting centre in Vilnius, which was damaged by the fire, so that the company can improve its waste collection and sorting processes in Lithuania and maintain a successful operation,” said Māris Simanovičs, Chairman of the Board of Eco Baltia.

The total area of the Ecoservice waste sorting plants buildings is more than 3,500 square metres, while the total area of the entire sorting centre site occupies more than 3 hectares. The state-of-the-art package waste sorting equipment planned there will advance the centre’s operations, in line with the principles of the circular economy, by reducing the waste of resources and maximising the return of materials to the market for re-use. Improving the existing engineering infrastructure will help to ensure compliance with the strictest environmental and fire safety requirements.

Eco Baltia Extraordinary Shareholders’ Meeting will be held on 3 April

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The Extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders of Eco Baltia, the largest environmental resource management and recycling group in the Baltic States, will be held on 3 April 2024.

The agenda of the shareholders’ meeting includes the approval of the new wording of the company’s Articles of Association and the election of the Supervisory Board.

Shareholders may familiarize themselves with the draft resolutions to be considered at the meeting, as well submit proposals on the issues included in the agenda at the company’s office at 240-3 Latgales Street, Riga, LV-1063, starting from 19 March 2024, working days from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Contacts: phone +371 67409828 or e-mail address sigita.namateva@ecobaltia.lv.

The shareholders of Eco Baltia AS are INVL Baltic Sea Growth Fund through UAB BSGF Salvus (52.81%), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (30.51%) and Māris Simanovičs (16.68%).