Veolia Germany acquires Hofmann group

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Veolia is expanding its geographical footprint on the German waste management market with the acquisition of Friedrich Hofmann GmbH’s recycling and waste management activities. According to a press release issued in late January, Veolia Umweltservice GmbH has signed a contract covering the sale. The transaction will also see Veolia acquire interests in a variety of companies both inside and outside Germany. The agreement is reportedly still subject to approval from the competent competition authorities.

Veolia did not specify the purchase price. The acquisition includes Hofmann's waste business activities, its sites and its workforce of more than 1,000 employees. Veolia said the transaction would guarantee that all parts of the family-owned company will continue operating.

The Hofmann Group is active in south-eastern Germany, including the Nuremberg region. Founded over 80 years ago, Hofmann is active in all parts of the waste management business. According to the press release, the scope of the businesses being sold includes take-back schemes, local authority services and the collection of hazardous, industrial and commercial waste at around 30 sites, as well as all of Hofmann's waste treatment facilities for various material fractions. The company's activities focus on collecting, sorting, recovering, recycling and trading in secondary raw materials.

Special focus on recovered paper

Veolia chose to highlight the wide-ranging recovered paper services provided by its new acquisition. Through the deal, and specifically the acquisition of Hofmann subsidiary ROWE, the French group's sales organisations would have access to around 1.4 million tonnes of recovered paper a year and would also have delivery agreements with a variety of paper producers.

"We are strengthening our geographic foothold in Franconia and Bavaria by acquiring Friedrich Hofmann GmbH’s recycling and waste management operations. The Hofmann Group’s national and international recovered paper operations allow Veolia to transform our paper business into a complete service provider for the paper industry and to support the environmental transformation of the sector,” said Veolia Germany’s CEO, Matthias Harms.

At present Veolia reports having approximately 10,500 employees at roughly 250 sites in Germany. The group’s three divisions – waste management, water and energy – generated sales revenues of €2.8bn on the German market last year.

The latest available financials show that Friedrich Hofmann GmbH recorded sales revenues of €175m and a consolidated net profit of €4.6m in the 2020 financial year. Some 95 per cent or €166m of this figure was generated in Germany. Other EU member states accounted for close to €8m and "third countries” for about €1m. The Hofmann Group’s report listed a total of 20 subsidiaries and associate companies.

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