The City of Amsterdam launched a new sales process for its wholly-owned subsidiary Afval Energie Bedrijf AEB Holding N.V. on Tuesday. In the announcement, the city stated that price was the most important sales criterion. Other key criteria included transaction certainty, sustainability, and employment opportunities. Potential buyers have until 15 May to file an expression of interest.
AEB operates a waste-to-energy (wte) plant with an annual treatment capacity of about 1.4 million tonnes. Since 2017, the company has also run an upstream sorting plant with an annual throughput of up to 60,000 tonnes.
The City of Amsterdam’s first attempt to part ways with AEB and sell the energy from waste (EfW) plant operator to its competitor AVR ran aground last year after the Dutch competition authority ruled that the role of the company that would be created through the transaction would be too dominant. Together, the companies account for around 39 per cent of the Netherlands’ waste-to-energy capacity.
Both the alderman responsible for municipal shareholdings, Reinier van Dantzig, and AEB’s CEO, Wim van Lieshout, described AEB as ready for sale. "I am confident that the city will be able to find a good buyer through a careful sales process," Mr Van Dantzig remarked. Mr Van Lieshout noted that the new owner was expected to make a long-term commitment to AEB....
