Van Gansewinkel has sold its waste to energy (wte) subsidiary, AVR, to a Hong Kong-based consortium led by Cheung Kong Infrastructure (CKI), the Dutch waste management concern announced on Monday. The transaction is expected to be completed in the third quarter and is subject to regulatory approval.
With a reported incineration capacity of 1.8 million tonnes per year, AVR leads the Dutch waste to energy market. Its two primary facilities are located in Rotterdam and Duiven. Van Gansewinkel put AVR's sales revenues for 2012 at €256m and said the subsidiary had booked earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, amortisation and exceptional items (Ebitdae) of €108m.
Van Gansewinkel Groep's CEO, Cees van Gent, described the divestiture as an important step which would "significantly strengthen" the company's financial position. Going forward, Van Gansewinkel plans to focus exclusively on waste collection and recycling, he explained. In combination with the reorganisation that we implemented at the end of 2012, this provides a very solid base to reinforce our position as the market leader in waste collection & recycling in the Benelux," said Mr van Gent.