French environmental services group Suez announced late last week that it would purchase a majority stake in the Ecosistem group, an Italian company specialising in industrial waste processing and recovery. A share purchase agreement had been signed. "This acquisition strengthens Suez's footprint in the Italian market and bolsters its position in these high-value-added services," the company said in its announcement.
Expanding in Europe is consistent with Suez's objective of increasing its international revenue share to at least 40 per cent by 2027. Italy was the second largest industrial producer within the EU and was "a strategic growth region for the group", said the French company.
Founded in 1988, Gruppo Ecosistem provides hazardous and non-hazardous waste management solutions in the regions of Calabria, Basilicate and Sicily, via its Ecosistem Srl and Econet Srl subsidiaries. Gruppo Ecosistem also operates in the Lombardia and Abbruzzi regions through equity investments. According to Suez, all the market segments in which Gruppo Ecosistem operates represent major growth opportunities, relating to the treatment of industrial effluents, energy recovery from waste and the remediation of polluted sites.
At press time, Suez had not responded to inquiries regarding the scale of its investment in the Italian company or Gruppo Ecosistem's turnover. One of the group's subsidiaries, Ecosistem Srl, posted turnover of nearly €70m in 2023, an increase of 24 per cent compared to 2022. According to the company's sustainability report, the subsidiary had 176 employees as of the end of the 2023 reporting year. It had had processed over 270,000 tonnes of waste and produced 13,900 tonnes of secondary raw materials that year. Another member of the group is the Lamezia Terme-based Econet srl. This company, which had 51 employees in 2023 reported reported revenues of €41m and waste intake of 283,900 tonnes in the reporting year.
"In a span of nearly 40 years, Ecosistem has grown from a used oil and batteries collection company into a leader in environmental solutions with more than 400 employees," said Salvatore Mazzotta, Ecosistem's CEO. "Joining forces with Suez, we look forward to expanding our offering with innovative solutions in recycling and resource recovery," he added.
"Gruppo Ecosistem is a leading player in Italy," said Yves Rannou, deputy CEO and chief operating officer Suez Recycling & Recovery. "We are proud to announce this acquisition, which represents a new phase of Suez's development in Europe. It demonstrates our commitment to developing innovative waste processing solutions that prioritize recycling and energy recovery, enabling us to offer our Italian clients increasingly circular solutions to support their ecological transition."
The founders of Gruppo Ecosistem will retain an equity stake in the business and continue to play an active role in its future development, said Suez.
