Hera Group: with ACR, the first national operator in remediation and global service activities is born
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Hera Group: with ACR, the first national operator in remediation and global service activities is born
With reference to the binding agreement signed on 7 November 2022, the partnership was finalised today between Hera and ACR, one of Italy’s leading companies in the sector of contaminated site remediation, industrial waste treatment, plant decommissioning and, more generally, on-site management for leading Italian oil & gas customers. The Hera Group expects this transaction to contribute with approximately 20 million euro to growth in its consolidated Ebitda.
This morning, at the Hera Group’s Bologna headquarters, the Group, acting through its subsidiary Herambiente Servizi Industriali (HASI), and A.C.R. di Reggiani Albertino S.p.A.® (ACR), based in Mirandola, in Modena area, finalised a transaction creating the Italy’s largest operator in the environmental remediation and industrial waste global service sector, with a nationwide service's coverage.
The closing follows up on the binding agreement signed by the two parties on 7 November 2022, with which Hera acquired 60% of ACR, while some remediation and global service activities previously held by HASI were transferred to the new company. The remaining 40% remains controlled by the Reggiani family.
Today also saw the appointment of the Board of Directors of the new ACR, whose CEOs remain the brothers Alberto and Claudio Reggiani.
This partnership with an important operator both locally and on the national scene will enable Hera, already a leader in the waste management sector, to further strengthen its leadership in the field of remediation, industrial waste treatment, decommissioning and oil & gas-related civil works. The contribution to growth in the Hera Group’s consolidated Ebitda is expected at approximately 20 million euro.
The details of the partnership
The new ACR has many strengths, being able to provide a highly performing and widespread service, particularly to companies having large industrial plants who need a qualified operator with infrastructures and expertise in the field of remediation and waste management.
The new company established today combines, in fact, Hera’s consolidated multi-business strategy and innovative set of plants with ACR’s experience, gained over 45 years of activity.
The Hera Group currently manages over one hundred certified, state-of-the-art plants, capable of treating all types of waste (municipal, industrial and liquid and solid) and employing 1,600 specialised operators. Through its subsidiary HASI, it treats 1.3 million tonnes of industrial waste every year in 18 multi-purpose sites. ACR, instead, can boast a high operational capacity, time to market in services, a considerable set of machinery and equipment, over 450 employees, approximately ten operating sites in Italy, more than 100 active reclamation sites, and, among its customers, the major players in the oil & gas sector.
“For the Hera Group, investing in an important operator based in Emilia such as ACR is perfectly in line with our strategic guidelines. With the Group’s activities, we aim to guarantee positive returns and economic benefits for the areas served. Moreover, in full continuity with the transactions completed in recent years”, states the Hera Group’s Executive Chairman, Tomaso Tommasi di Vignano, “this partnership with ACR allows us to strengthen our waste management services intended for large companies, expanding operational and plant capacity and expanding our presence in the country. In a complex scenario, characterised by infrastructural shortcomings and a high level of sector fragmentation, companies now require integrated management services for their industrial waste. Thanks to our many years of experience, state-of-the-art facilities and highly specialised personnel, we are able to support companies with turnkey proposals and high quality and safety standards. Advanced in terms of the circular economy as well, we are able to make their processes more efficient and virtuous and help them achieve concrete, measurable and increasingly challenging sustainability goals. The synergies resulting from transactions such as this one will therefore bring concrete benefits for all our business customers and will also generate positive repercussions for the local areas served”.
“We are pleased to become part of a company such as the Hera Group, one of Italy’s largest multi-utility organisations that has always maintained strong roots in the local area”, comment the brothers Alberto and Claudio Reggiani, CEOs of A.C.R. di Reggiani Albertino S.p.A.® “We and our employees see this partnership as a fundamental step for our company’s growth, which will allow us both to strengthen our presence in the core business of reclamation and to enter the world of global service. With this operation we will enhance, indeed, our activities in the waste management sector, integrating all the necessary and fundamental skills to be counted among the most important players nationwide in these fields”.
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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.