Hera Group expands in the industrial waste sector with TRS Ecology
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Hera Group expands in the industrial waste sector with TRS Ecology
With the acquisition of 70% of the Piacenza-based company, the Group reinforces its leadership in the waste management sector. This transaction, at full capacity, is expected to contribute to growth in the Hera Group’s Ebitda with approximately 6 million euro.
The Hera Group has further strengthened its Italian leadership in the waste management sector, particularly in industrial waste treatment, thanks to the binding agreement signed today by its subsidiary, Herambiente Servizi Industriali, concerning the acquisition of 70% of TRS Ecology based in Piacenza, Emilia Romagna region. TRS Ecology has thus transferred to Herambiente its corporate branch responsible for the multifunctional waste treatment platform located in Caorso in Piacenza. With this new facility, when fully operational, Herambiente will process over 64,000 additional tons of industrial waste annually, contributing with approximately 6 million euro to the Hera Group’s consolidated Ebitda, in addition to synergies expected from the integration.
The acquisition of TRS Ecology, which employs over 70 workers and serves approximately 2,700 clients, will allow Hera to expand its presence in the Northwestern Italy and create important synergies with its existing industrial hubs in Pisa, Ravenna and Vicenza provinces. The current ownership, represented by the company’s Sole Director Claudio Dodici, will remain within the new corporate structure, retaining a significant operational role.
“This new and significant partnership will make us even more efficient in managing our industrial clients and will strengthen our national leadership in this sector, both in terms of the quantity of waste treated and the number of clients served. The infrastructure provided by TRS Ecology complements Herambiente’s current facilities dedicated to the valorisation of industrial waste, allowing us to expand our scope of action. When it reaches full capacity, we expect to develop significant technical and commercial synergies with the other plants and companies within the Group”, comments Andrea Ramonda, CEO of Herambiente.
“After almost forty years of history”, comments Claudio Dodici, Sole Director of TRS, “with this transaction our company has grasped a unique opportunity for growth and a chance to further improve the quality of services for our clients, creating value for all stakeholders. Our absolute priority has always been to make a genuine and ongoing commitment to environmental preservation. This is why we have constantly invested in circularity, which we believe to be a principle of sustainability and it is crucial for us to know that Hera shares the same values and gives the same attention to these issues.”
The details of the partnership
The TRS facility in Caorso is authorized to treat more than 100,000 tons of waste annually and is organized into four process lines: solid and liquid waste storage; solid and liquid waste reconditioning, sorting, screening and recovery; solid waste volumetric reduction and grinding; solid and liquid waste mixing. In addition to its treatment activities, TRS Ecology can engage in storage, aimed at managing waste from environmental remediation. The Caorso facility currently processes approximately 50,000 tons of waste each year, and with the investments planned by Herambiente, it will be able to increase and streamline its activities, respecting the Group’s circular economy objectives.
Acting through its subsidiary Herambiente Servizi Industriali, the Hera Group currently operates 19 multifunctional sites dedicated to treating waste produced by businesses, processing over 1 million tons of industrial waste annually. This operation follows up on the M&As already carried out by Hera in recent years, including the 100% acquisition of Recycla (Friuli), the 80% acquisition of Vallortigara (Vicenza), the 31% acquisition of SEA (Marche), the 50% joint venture with HEA (Ravenna) and the 70% acquisition of ACR (Modena). It thus pursues Herambiente’s development plan aimed at providing efficient, innovative, and competitive solutions to its clients in terms of both cost and environmental sustainability. All acquisitions made by Herambiente are aligned with the goal of increasing the proximity and accessibility of plants presenting synergies with the Group’s long-standing network. This is done with the aim of improving efficiency and service quality for businesses, generating positive returns in the areas served and providing economic benefits to clients.
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Strong interest from international investors in Hera’s first European Green Bond (EuGB) with a 6-year maturity, which will finance strategic projects of the multi-utility aligned with the EU Taxonomy. Orders received amouned to 7 times the offered amount.
The Hera Group, the first Italian company to issue a green bond in 2014, continues today its commitment to sustainable finance with the launch of its first European Green Bond (“EuGB”), under its “Euro Medium Term Note Programme” (EMTN). This bond issuance – in line with its European Green Bond Factsheet, published in the dedicated section of the Group’s website (https://eng.gruppohera.it/group_eng/investor-relations/debt-and-rating/green-financing-framework-e-opinion), together with the relevant Pre-Issuance Review, attracted significant interest from international investors, receiving orders for approximately 3.6 billion euros, nearly 7 times the offered amount.
With this issuance, which corresponds to the fifth green issuance overall considering all those carried out by the multi-utility over the last 12 years, the Hera Group has once again offered the market the opportunity to finance strategic projects aimed at the green transition and aligned with the EU Taxonomy, reaffirming its position as a benchmark company for sustainable finance, also at an international level.
“The issuance of our first European Green Bond represents a further concrete step in the Hera Group’s sustainability journey, confirming our commitment towards carbon neutrality and the development of the circular economy” – states Orazio Iacono, Chief Executive Officer of the Hera Group. “This new sustainable finance instrument allows us to fund investments fully aligned with the EU Taxonomy, accelerating strategic projects for the energy and environmental transition, from the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions to the increase in resource recovery and regeneration. This is a significant contribution to our business plan and to the Net Zero 2050 target, confirming our Group’s strategy, where business growth, value creation, and sustainable development are closely interconnected.”.
Characteristics of the Group’s European Green Bond (“EuGB”) and funded areas
The Hera Group’s first European Green Bond (“EuGB”) (rated Baa1 with Stable Outlook by Moody’s and BBB+/A-2 with Stable Outlook by Standard & Poor’s), amounts to a total of 500 million euros, repayable in 6 years with a coupon of 3.50% and a yield of 3.574%. The settlement date of the new issuance is expected on 4 June 2026.
The EuGB is represented by senior, non-convertible, unsecured notes, intended for circulation among qualified investors and governed by English law. Furthermore, the European Green Bond (EuGB) is expected to be assigned a rating in line with that of Hera.
The transaction saw significant participation from international investors (in particular, United Kingdom, France, Germany). Substantially all of investors were green and sustainable, confirming the interest in the Group also beyond national borders.
The European Green Bond is expected to be listed on the regulated market of Euronext Dublin from the issue date, as well as on the regulated markets of Euronext Milan and the Luxembourg Stock Exchange.
In accordance with the provisions of Regulation (EU) 2023/2631, the proceeds from the issuance are expected to finance or refinance the projects indicated in the Hera Group’s European Green Bond Factsheet, fully aligned with the EU Taxonomy.
In particular, the use of proceeds will cover three main areas:
- Sustainable management of water resources and wastewater: including construction, expansion and management of water collection, treatment and supply systems (economic activity 5.1 of the EU Taxonomy), as well as construction, expansion and management of wastewater collection and treatment systems (economic activity 5.3 of the EU Taxonomy);
- Circular economy, pollution prevention and control: including initiatives for the collection and transport of non-hazardous waste in source-segregated fractions (economic activity 5.5 of the EU Taxonomy);
- Energy efficiency and energy infrastructure: including (i) the generation of electricity using solar photovoltaic technology, (ii) the transmission and distribution of electricity, and (iii) installation, maintenance and repair of energy efficiency devices (economic activities 4.1, 4.9 and 7.3 of the EU Taxonomy).
To ensure the correct and transparent allocation of funds, Hera has adopted a monitoring and reporting process that provides for the publication of relevant information through a “Green Bond Report” which will include the “Allocation Reporting and the Impact Reporting”.
Transaction partners
The issuance of the Hera Group’s first European Green Bond (“EuGB”) was coordinated by BNP Paribas, Crédit Agricole CIB, Mediobanca, UniCredit, BBVA, Intesa Sanpaolo – IMI CIB Division, Banco Santander, Banca AKROS, Deutsche Bank, BPER Banca, Montepaschi di Siena, Barclays, Caixabank and Goldman Sachs as Joint Bookrunners. The law firm Legance assisted Hera, while the law firm Linklaters supported the Joint Bookrunners.