Agilyx buys stake in Green Dot

Norway-based Agilyx ASA says it has signed a binding agreement to acquire 44 percent of GreenDot Global, which it refers to as Europe's largest plastic recycling platform.

GreenDot Global has its roots in the German Der Grüne Punkt – Duales System Deutschland (DSD) recyclables collection system. That collection network was purchased by equity investor H.I.G. Capital in 2011 and then sold to Luxembourg-based Circular Resources in 2022.

The 2022 sale to Circular Resources followed an unsuccessful bid by Germany-based waste and recycling firm Remondis to buy the DSD assets. That transaction was not approved by a German federal court, which ruled in 2020 that it might put too much “market power” in the hands of Remondis.

Subsequent purchaser Circular Resources was founded by Carlos Monreal, whose prior experience includes being the founder and CEO of London-based chemical recycling company Plastic Energy.

The new Agilyx stake in GreenDot Global can be interpreted as another maneuver by operators of chemical recycling plants to cultivate a greater presence in the plastic scrap collection and supply chain, which traditionally has been oriented toward the mechanical recycling plastics sector.

“This transformative investment significantly strengthens Agilyx’ presence in the European market, creating a global platform for sourcing and supplying feedstock to the ‘advanced’ recycling industry,” states Agilyx.

The new shareholder describes GreenDot as “the leading circular plastic recycling platform in Europe and the third-largest recycling company in Germany.”

GreenDot is licensed in 29 countries and processes more than 1 million tons of discarded packaging waste annually, including more than 400,000 tons of plastic, according to Agilyx.

“We are thrilled to expand Agilyx’ reach into Europe as we build a global platform to supply feedstock to the plastic recycling industry,” says Agilyx CEO Ranjeet Bhatia.

“GreenDot is the recognized industry leader in Europe, has tremendous momentum in the fast-developing advanced recycling market, and is a great complement to Agilyx' existing activities,” adds Bhatia.

Comments, Laurent Auguste, CEO of GreenDot, “The new capital injection will support expansion of facilities in Germany, Austria and Italy and is additional evidence of GreenDot’s commitment to scaling the circular economy of plastic in Europe.”

Agilyx describes GreenDot as engaged in expanding its advanced or chemical recycling feedstock supply capabilities by investing in sorting facilities in Austria and Italy

The Norway-based firm says the transaction is fully financed “by certain existing investors” through a subordinated loan facility and is expected to close in the late third quarter of this year, subject to regulatory and other approvals.

In addition to its proposed stake in GreenDot, Agilyx is a partner in Houston-based Cyclyx, a joint venture (JV) with petrochemical firms ExxonMobil and LyondellBasell, and already is a JV partner with Circular Resources in Plastyx, a Dublin-based effort to acquire plastic scrap feedstock.