Abengoa agrees Befesa sale for over €1 billion to Triton funds

The Spanish company Abengoa has entered into an exclusivity agreement for the sale of 100% of its subsidiary Befesa to funds advised by Triton Partners. The transaction values Befesa’s total assets at €1,075 million, Abengoa said in a press release.

After customary net debt adjustments, total consideration for Abengoa would amount to €625 million: €352 million cash consideration at closing, a vendor note of €48 million with a four years maturity and deferred consideration valued at €225 million, which shall be received via a convertible loan, exchangeable into shares of Befesa at the moment of the exit of the Funds from Befesa. A spokesman of Triton said: “we look forward to completing the acquisition of Befesa. Triton has followed the German components of what later became the core of Befesa for several years. The company’s business and potential fit well with the investment strategy of the Triton funds.”

Befesa is an international company that specializes in the integral management of industrial waste, with plants in Germany, Spain, United Kingdom, France, Sweden, Turkey and South Korea, as well as Chile, Argentina and Peru. It employs more than 2,000 professionals, and it is a leader in the steel dust and salt slags recycling sectors in Europe.

The Triton funds invest in and support the positive development of medium-sized businesses in the Industrial, Business Services, and Consumer / Health sectors. Founded in 1997, Triton seeks to pro-actively contribute to the building of better businesses for the longer term. Triton and its executives wish to be agents of positive change towards sustainable operational improvements and growth.

Manuel Sánchez Ortega, CEO of Abengoa said: “This agreement is a new step towards our strategy to focus on our core activities and to reduce our net leverage. We are also extremely satisfied with the international success and recognition achieved by Befesa and we are confident that the company will continue on this successful path under a new ownership.”

“From a personal point of view, I am excited with this new opportunity and believe Triton would be a fantastic partner for Befesa in this stage, since it would provide continuity to our growth project and to the expansion plans that we have for the company,” explained Javier Molina, chairman of Befesa.