French giant entering Serbian waste and recycling market

The French Paprec Group, one of the leading European players in recycling and waste management, is entering the Serbian market by purchasing an 80% stake in Austrian company Brantner Green Solutions, which operates in Serbia as Brantner otpadna privreda doo.

Paprec has signed an agreement with the Brantner family to take over a majority stake in the Austrian group’s environmental division. The Brantner family will retain 20% of the ownership and continue to support the development of the business.

The transaction represents Paprec’s first entry into the markets of Austria, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Romania and Serbia, significantly expanding the French group’s presence in Central and Eastern Europe.

Brantner Green Solutions operates in 65 locations and facilities in five countries, has more than 28,000 clients and almost 2,500 employees, while the company’s annual revenues exceed EUR 320 million.

In Serbia, Brantner operates through four locations, in Novi Becej, Kovacica, Kanjiza and Opovo, within the scope of its business that includes waste management, collection and recycling.

The financial value of the transaction has not been disclosed. Paprec states that this is the largest single investment of the group since 2016, when the merger with the French company Coved was completed.

The transaction relates to the Brantner Green Solutions business, while Brantner Logistic Solutions and Brantner Real Estate remain fully owned by the Brantner family.

– Through this partnership, we want to accelerate development in Central and Eastern Europe, making the technologies and expertise that our group has developed for more than 30 years in the field of recycling and waste reuse available to local governments and businesses in these countries – says Paprec.

Paprec Chairman and CEO Mathieu Petitihuguenin will be the company’s president, while Bernd Brantner will serve as vice president.

After obtaining the necessary regulatory approvals, Paprec expects the acquisition to increase the total size of the group to around 26,000 employees in 15 countries, with annual revenues exceeding EUR 4.5 billion.

The transaction is subject to obtaining the approvals of the relevant regulatory authorities.

Branislava Petrovic

BRANTNER DOO NOVI BEČEJ

Paprec

Brantner

Brantner Green Solutions

Brantner otpadna privreda doo

Mathieu Petitihuguenin

acquisition

waste recycling and management