Author: Gunita Krilova

Eco Baltia Group’s Lithuanian company Ecoservice’s total claim against Compensa reaches €13.6 million

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The Lithuanian environmental services company Ecoservice, part of the largest environmental resource management and recycling group in the Baltics, Eco Baltia, has clarified its civil claim against the Latvian branch of “Compensa Vienna Insurance Group” in court. Following the submission of additional calculations and evidence related to the damages of business interruption, the total amount of the claim reaches EUR 13.6 million.

As reported previously, the insurance claim relates to the losses suffered by Ecoservice when, on 5 August 2023, a fire at Ecoservice’s waste sorting centre caused widespread damage, destroying the building, the waste sorting equipment, part of the inventory and forcing a partial shutdown of its operations.

Despite the fact that the Department of Environmental Protection and the Department of Fire Protection and Rescue carried out investigations and established the essential circumstances of the fire, the insurer has failed to fulfill its obligations and has not paid insurance compensation in accordance with the terms of the insurance contract.

“We hope that Compensa will start fulfilling its contractual obligations and will compensate Ecoservice for the damages suffered by the company without delaying the process,” says Jurgita Nacevičienė, Manager of Ecoservice.

The claim was filed with the Riga City Court at the beginning of October of this year, and it contained calculations and evidence for a part of the insurance claim in the amount of EUR 7.4 million. Now, additional evidence and calculations related to the business interruption costs were added, bringing the total claim amount to EUR 13.6 million. The losses were calculated by international financial experts based on the company’s operational data and collected evidence. This was necessary as the insurance contract did not provide clear instructions for these calculations, and the insurer, during the damage administration process, not only refrained from offering any methodology for assessing the business interruption losses but also repeatedly rejected the calculations submitted by Ecoservice.

The document submitted to the court shows that the Latvian branch of Compensa is unreasonably delaying the decision on the insurance claim. Almost one and a half years after the accident, the insurance company has neither decided whether the accident should be declared insured nor whether to pay the full or partial indemnity.

After the fire, Ecoservice is rebuilding its capacity using its own and borrowed funds. It is estimated that the ongoing reconstruction of the sorting centre will require a total of EUR 18 million.

23.12.2024.

Eco Baltia intends to acquire up to 100%of JSC DAUGAVPILS SPECIALIZĒTAIS AUTOTRANSPORTA UZŅĒMUMS

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Eco Baltia, the largest environmental resource management and recycling group in the Baltics, has submitted a merger notification to the Competition Council of the Republic of Latvia (the “CC”) in order to obtain permission to acquire 56,2% of the shares of the Latvian road maintenance company JSC (AS) DAUGAVPILS SPECIALIZĒTAIS AUTOTRANSPORTA UZŅĒMUMS (“Daugavpils Spec. ATU”).   After the completion of the transaction, which is planned to be executed through Eco Baltia’s subsidiary, Eco Baltia vide, the group will hold 96.6% of the shares. However, group is interested to increase this stake up to 100%.

In Aprils of this year, Eco Baltia vide acquired 40.40% of the shares in Daugavpils Spec. ATU from the Daugavpils City Council and the Latvian State. The remaining shares are owned by private individuals.

Jānis Aizbalts, Chairman of the Management Board of Eco Baltia vide, commented:

“Considering our experience in road management gained over many years, we have experienced a breakthrough over last year and this year. Last year, we expanded Eco Baltia’s portfolio with the acquisition of Pilsētas Eko Serviss, a local road maintenance company in Riga which was added to Eco Baltia vide. This year we are further strengthening our presence in Daugavpils, Latvia’s second largest city. Our experience has resulted in an efficient and financially attractive assortment of services provided by the private sector.  It promotes healthy competition in the sector, improving service quality and introducing sustainable technological solutions.”

The same way as after the acquisition of the shares owned by the state and the local government, Daugavpils Spec. ATU will continue to provide its daily services as usual. No changes are planned to the existing cooperation agreements and arrangements for the customers, partners and employees of the parties involved in the transaction.

About JSC (AS) DAUGAVPILS SPECIALIZĒTAIS AUTOTRANANSPORTA UZŅĒMUMS

DAUGAVPILS SPECIALIZĒTAIS AUTOTRANANSPORTA UZŅĒMUMS was founded in January 1973. The company manages waste in municipalities in the Latgale region, provides street cleaning and maintenance services in Daugavpils and provides transport services. In 2023 “Daugavpils Spec. ATU” had an audited turnover of EUR 5,5 million. The company had 98 employees.

About LTD (SIA) Eco Baltia vide:

Eco Baltia vide is an environmental management company providing a wide range of environmental management services – municipal and sorted waste collection, packaging waste management, construction and bulky waste management, area cleaning and road management, as well as various seasonal services. In 2023, Eco Baltia vide closed the year with an unaudited turnover of almost EUR 54 million.

Eco Baltia has completed the acquisition of the hazardous waste collection and processing company Eko Osta

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The largest environmental resource management and recycling company in the Baltics, JSC (AS) Eco Baltia, has finalized the acquisition of 100% of the capital shares of Latvia’s leading hazardous waste collection and processing company, Ltd. (SIA) Eko Osta, thereby expanding its range of environmental services.

Eco Baltia Chairman of the Board, Māris Simanovičs, stated: “The inclusion of a hazardous waste collection and processing company in the Eco Baltia group is a significant step towards expanding our range of services and realizing our development strategy by incorporating more types of waste into our management portfolio for recycling. The acquisition of Eko Osta opens new possibilities for the country to ensure a more effective waste management cycle in segments where meeting regulatory standards has previously been challenging. We are pleased with this transaction, which will enable us to provide an even broader and higher-quality service range to Eco Baltia group clients.”

Eko Osta specializes in waste management and recycling, collection, transportation, purification, and processing of oil-contaminated water, environmental remediation, and quality monitoring. Additionally, the company handles waste generated by ships, including the treatment of oil waste collected in the ports of Riga, Skulte, Salacgrīva, Engure, Lielupe, and Mērsrags. As part of the waste management services provided by Eko Osta, various types of hazardous waste are collected, transported, and managed.

The acquisition was carried out through Oil Recovery, a subsidiary of the Eco Baltia Group company Latvijas Zaļais punkts.

Following the transaction, Eko Osta has become one of the environmental management sector companies within the Eco Baltia group, specializing in hazardous and environmentally harmful waste management. No changes are planned for the existing contracts and collaborations with clients, partners, and employees of both parties.

31.10.2024.