At a capital markets event held yesterday, the Dutch waste management group Renewi outlined its strategy for the coming years, noting "attractive base business with strong growth in margins". In compliance with the UK Takeover Code, the company made no new comments on the potential takeover offer it received from Macquarie Asset Management on 25 September, but it reiterated and expanded upon the arguments for its own standalone operational plan that it made last week. Renewi's board has "firmly rejected" the acquisition proposal, saying it did not believe Macquarie's plans to be in the interests of Renewi shareholders and that its own plans for the business offer "a materially superior opportunity".
Renewi explained last week that it is carrying out a strategic evaluation of its UK Municipal business with an eye to exiting the British market. In the company's presentation yesterday, CEO Otto de Bont noted that these operations, which consists primarily of public-private partnership (PPP) waste treatment contracts with local authorities, had a different financial profile than the rest of the group and lay outside Renewi's core competence of commercial waste sorting and treatment. In his remarks, Mr de Bont said "separation as soon as possible" was key, noting that in addition to value optimisation, deliverability was also being emphasised.
Read more on Renewi's anticipated timeline for the review of its UK Municipal business, its performance in the recently-concluded half and its growth strategy for the medium-term...
