RIGA - Europe's largest environmental services company, the Veolia group, moved into the Latvian market after it agreed with Latvian firm Bioinvest to acquire a 51 percent stake in waste manager Nelsens.
Nelsens chairman Eriks Zaporozecs said the company expects the merger with Veolia's Cleanaway unit will result in a stronger position for Latvia's largest waste manager.
Latvia's competition council approved the acquisition on July 25.
Veolia subsidiary Veolia Umweltservice, which is responsible for group activities in the Baltic States, believes that the Latvian environmental services market has huge potential.
Veolia boasts 150 years of experience with operations in Europe, Africa and some Far East countries including China, and plans on developing existing, as well as new environmental management-related services in Latvia.
Veolia Umweltservice executive director Matthias Harms says that cooperation with Nelsens would considerably strengthen Veolia's position in the Baltic market.
"We are very satisfied that we have such an important role in developing Latvian environmental services. We will stimulate the waste recycling industry in a way that will turn most of the waste into recyclable resources," Harms promises, adding that Veolia, in any country it operates in, strives to become a proprietary partner to the companies and individuals which it works with.
Zaporozecs expressed satisfaction in attracting a global leader in jointly developing the company, one which will raise the level of environmental services in Latvia. "We are happy that the largest environmental services provider in Europe has become an investor in Nelsens," he said.
Veolia Umweltservice, with a central office in Hamburg, is one of the largest waste managers in Germany. Veolia Umweltservice is a subsidiary of the French unit Veolia Environment.
Revenues at Veolia Environment in 2007 reached 32.6 billion euros. The company has operations on all continents and employs over 298,500 people, providing services in four mutually complementary areas: water management, waste management, energy management and passenger transportationNelsens earned 110,800 lats (158,200 euros) profit in 2007 with 3.2 million lats revenue.
