Paprec acquires Coved

The French recycling company Paprec has agreed to acquire Coved, the waste management subsidiary of the French firm Saur. In making the deal Paprec says it is the largest acquisition in the company’s history. The deal was signed 4 December 2016. The purchase price is between €220-280 million.

Paprec’s business is primarily in the recycling sector. The company handled 6 million tonnes of recyclables in 2015, and says it expects to process 7 million tonnes this year, almost all of it in France. The brunt of its business comes from the commercial and industrial sectors. A Paprec spokeswoman estimates about 80% of its business is derived from the commercial sector.

Coved’s business is geared more toward the solid waste collection and processing. The company has a number of landfills, and the majority of its activity comes from the residential side of the business.

The acquisition is subject to government clearance and is expected to be completed by April 2017.

The move by Paprec will expand its business to a broader part of France. Additionally, the acquisition will grow the company’s employee ranks to 8,000. Prior to the acquisition Paprec had 4,500 employees.

In making the acquisition, Jean-Luc Petithuguenin, Paprec’s founder and president, says Coved has a significant strength with local authority services and Paprec is primarily involved in recycling and recovering industrial and commercial waste. The merger would enable the combined companies to position themselves to provide both recycling and waste management services to customers in France as well as international markets.

During the press conference announcing the acquisition, Petithuguenin said that because Coved is heavily focused on waste management collection, while Paprec derives most of its revenue from recycling, there won’t be too much crossover business. Also, Coved is present in three French regions, Alsace, Dawn, Vendée, where Paprec is not currently active or somewhat active.