GreenCycle is to become the new owner of the Tönsmeier Group, Germany’s fifth largest waste disposal company, based in Porta Westfalica. The Tönsmeier family has closed an agreement with GreenCycle, a Schwarz Group company. The transaction is still subject to approvals, including by antitrust authorities. The parties have agreed not to disclose the financial conditions.
The sale was preceded by a structured process initiated by the Tönsmeier family in early 2018. The process involved discussions with a great number of strategic interested parties and financial investors. The market’s general interest in Tönsmeier significantly exceeded original expectations.
GreenCycle provides waste disposal and recycling services for the companies of the Schwarz Group. GreenCycle’s responsibilities include collecting and recycling materials generated in the stores and logistics operations of the Lidl and Kaufland retail divisions. Besides its activities for the Schwarz Group, GreenCycle has also acted as a waste disposal service provider for other companies for several years. The planned acquisition of the Tönsmeier Group and its more than 3,000 employees in Germany and Poland will expand GreenCycle’s range of services in the environmental service branch while strengthening its internationalization.
Jürgen Tönsmeier, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Tönsmeier Group: “Our primary goal has been to find a financially strong new owner with strategic growth plans for continuing the Tönsmeier Group’s development. We have achieved that goal with GreenCycle, whose offer we found the most convincing. Although GreenCycle is one of the largest trading companies in the world as part of the Schwarz Group, it is also a family-run company that thinks long-term and acts sustainably. I am convinced that this transaction will lead to good prospects for our customers and employees. Tönsmeier will enrich GreenCycle."
Dietmar Böhm, Managing Director of GreenCycle GmbH: “GreenCycle pursues a clear growth strategy, aiming to establish itself in the market as a driver of the environmental service branch with sustainable innovations. This acquisition expands GreenCycle’s customer segment, and the company intends to use the services and solutions of the Tönsmeier Group to tighten cycle systems and promote recycling and recyclability.”
