INVL Baltic Sea Growth Fund- backed Eco Baltia completes the acquisition of Eko Osta

Eco Baltia, the largest environmental resource management and recycling company in the Baltics, managed by INVL Baltic Sea Growth Fund, the leading private equity fund in the Baltics, has completed the acquisition of 100% of the shares of Latvia’s leading hazardous waste collection and processing company Eko Osta.

The transaction was completed after receiving approval of the Latvian Competition Council for the acquisition.

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 Latvia. As part of the waste management services provided by Eko Osta, various types of hazardous waste are collected, transported, and managed. In 2023, Eko Osta generated revenue of EUR 7.85 million.

About the INVL Baltic Sea Growth Fund

With a size of EUR 165 million, the INVL Baltic Sea Growth Fund is the leading private equity fund in the Baltics. Its anchor investor is the European Investment Fund (EIF).

The EIF, which is a part of the European Investment Bank, has committed EUR 30 million with the support of the European Fund for Strategic Investments (a key element of the Investment Plan for Europe, or the Junker Plan) while also allocating resources from the Baltic Innovation Fund, a “fund of funds” initiative developed in cooperation with the governments of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. The initiative aims to increase capital investment in high-growth potential small and medium-sized enterprises in the Baltics.

The fund focused on investments in the Baltic countries and neighbouring regions such as Poland, the Nordics, and Central Europe. The INVL Baltic Sea Growth Fund has already invested in a diversified portfolio of nine companies. That includes companies operating in the food processing, healthcare, medical rehabilitation, civil engineering, plastic recycling, environmental management, and veterinary services sectors, as well as in the manufacturing of cosmetics and hygiene products.

The fund is managed by INVL Asset Management, the leading alternative asset manager in the Baltics and part of the Invalda INVL group, which has been in the investment management business for more than 30 years. The group’s companies manage or have under supervision more than EUR 1.5 billion of assets under management across multiple asset classes including private equity, forests and agricultural land, renewable energy, real estate, and private debt. The group’s activities also include family office services in Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia, management of pension funds in Latvia, and investments in global third-party funds.

About Eco Baltia

Eco Baltia group is the largest environmental and waste management group in the Baltics, providing the full-cycle waste management solutions from waste collection and sorting to secondary raw material logistics, wholesale and raw material processing as well as PET and PE/PP plastics recycling.

Eco Baltia closed 2023 with a consolidated turnover of EUR 218.4 million, an increase of 4% compared to 2022. Eco Baltia’s total combined sales revenue (pro-forma) in 2023 amounted to EUR 242.5 million.

The Group has more than 2.700 employees in Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and the Czech Republic. Its leading companies are ITERUM (until 6 June 2024 – PET Baltija), Eco Baltia vide, Latvijas Zaļais punkts, Nordic Plast, JUMIS, and Eko Osta in Latvia, TESIL Fibres in Czech Republic, Ecoservice, based in Lithuania, and Metal Plast, based in Poland.

The shareholders of Eco Baltia are the private equity fund INVL Baltic Sea Growth Fund (52.81%), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (30.51%) and Māris Simanovičs (16.68%).

About Eko Osta:

Eko Osta is a waste manager and recycler of environmentally harmful and hazardous waste. The company was registered in 1999 and its service portfolio consists of collection, transportation (floating vehicles, land vehicles), treatment and recycling of petroleum contaminated waters and soil, recycled lubricating oils, organic solvents, collection and transportation of used tyres, geological, hydrogeological, geo-ecological and geotechnical surveys and other services. In 2023, Eko Osta generated revenue of EUR 7.85 million.

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