Commission green-lights Suez recycling arm acquisition by Lidl owner

The European Commission has given the go-ahead for the acquisition of some Suez waste management and recycling companies in Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Poland by the Schwarz Group.

The approval is conditional on the divestiture of Suez's lightweight packaging (LWP) sorting business in the Netherlands, including the sorting plant in Rotterdam. The Commission said that it had concerns about the reduced level of competition for LWP sorting in the Netherlands and that divesting that part of the business would mean the rest of the deal could continue. If Schwarz did not make the divestment, the company would control more than half of the Dutch market.

Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager, in charge of competition policy, said: “Competitive markets at every level of the recycling chain are a crucial contribution to a more circular economy and essential to achieving the objectives of the Green Deal. With the divestment of Suez' sorting plant in the Netherlands, the acquisition can go ahead while preserving effective competition in the sorting of plastic waste market in the Netherlands.”

Also read: Veolia & Suez Reach Deal, Ending France's Longest Takeover Battle

Schwarz Group - which owns supermarket chains Lidl and Kaufland - and Suez have been in negotiations over the acquisition of the recycling business for some time. Suez first announced the sale in September 2020. The €3 billion deal was finally given the go-ahead, with the divestment caveat, yesterday.

Suez' plastic recycling and hazardous waste treatment activities were not included in the deal.

Dieter Schwarz, who owns the Schwarz Group, is Germany's richest man with a fortune of around €20 billion, according to Bloomberg. 

The approval comes just days after a long-running and bitter takeover bid by French waste and water management firm Veolia to acquire its rival Suez finally came to an end. 

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