The Germany-based Tönsmeier Group, which bills itself as one of the largest waste management companies in Germany, has announced that its ownership group is seeking a structured process to sell the company to a firm offering a long-term growth strategy. According to Tönsmeier, the company’s goal is to find a buyer in place during the first half of 2018.
The financial services firm KPMG has been hired to act as a mergers and acquisitions advisor.
In a release, the company noted that its decision was preceded by a comprehensive process that defined the medium- and long-term growth strategy needed to grow the company. In particular, the company indicates it looked at steps needed to grow in regard to Germany’s Packaging Act, which is slated to go into effect Jan. 1, 2019; Germany’s Industrial Waste Ordinance; and the introduction of the circular economy in Poland. As a result, Tönsmeier management believes it needs an investment amounting to more than €150 million ($184 million) to meet those goals.
Jürgen Tönsmeier, chairman of the company’s supervisory board, says, “Our decision was guided by the premise of what is in the best interests of the group, its customers and its employees in the long term. The further development of Tönsmeier on its own would be a financially great act of strength for the company and the family. We had to accept this reality as the owner, although of course this was not easy for us.”
“Management fully supports the decision of the shareholders,” says Bernd Ranneberg a company spokesman. “Today, Tönsmeier has a good operational and financial basis and therefore acts proactively from a position of strength. As a high-performance environmental service provider with industry-recognized technological know-how, we are an asset to every new owner.”
The Tönsmeier group of companies operates in Germany, the Netherlands and Poland with 70 locations, including more than 30 processing plants. The company has annual sales of around €500 million ($613 million) per year.