The prospect of a strategic alliance between two major business groups, which includes much more than simple acquisitions, appears to be signaled by the sought-after double deal between AKTOR - Motor Oil.
From the circular economy, waste management and PPP projects for waste processing, to the joint development of the “Dioriga Gas” FSRU, a subsidiary of MOH, the discussions between the two listed companies point to a cooperation with depth.
If the discussions for the project in Agioi Theodoroi, Corinthia bear fruit and AKTOR contributes capital and a long-term capacity commitment to the project, the second Greek floating LNG storage and regasification terminal will likely get on track.
If, correspondingly, the exclusive negotiations in which the two sides have been engaged since yesterday for AKTOR’s acquisition of 75% of the companies “Helector” and “Thalis”, also lead to an agreement, the latter will enter waste management dynamically, the sector where the next cycle of major PPP projects is expected to “run”. In this, it will have Motor Oil as a partner, at least in the first phase, with a 25% stake.
The web of collaborations on the table is quite broad and if the first agreements are concluded, no one can rule out any expansion into other sectors as well (e.g. RES), as market players observe.
Regarding the timelines, competent sources estimate that the completion of the talks for the circular economy is placed within July, while within the summer the discussions for the FSRU are also said to likely be concluded, a fact that also shows that the contacts were at a mature stage.
What AKTOR gains
To the question of what AKTOR gains from a possible acquisition of “Helector” and “Thalis”, the answer is quite obvious.
Both because it significantly strengthens its position in environmental infrastructure, where it is placing ever greater weight, as indicated by the MoU months ago with France’s SUEZ for the joint pursuit of waste management, circular economy and water resources projects, and because at this stage it has an ever greater need for stable revenues.
The recurring cash flows of construction projects are exactly what it needs in order to finance (together with the 950 million from the share capital increase and bond) its ambitious energy projects.
The price and the scenarios
Everything, of course, will depend on the negotiations that are now moving into issues such as management, prices and every other detail. Here it is significant that two years ago (May 2024), when MOH had acquired 94.44% of “Helector” from the Ellaktor group, the entire company had been valued at 121 million euros. Some information raises today’s valuation to close to 200 million euros.
X-raying the profile of HELECTOR, today it operates 7 urban solid waste processing facilities in Greece and Cyprus, 2 hazardous clinical waste management facilities and 4 energy production facilities from the utilization of biogas emitted from Landfill Sites (LFs), with total installed capacity of more than 33 MW.
At the same time, it has signed new contracts for the Construction of Waste Processing Units in Agrinio, the turnkey construction of PPC’s High-Efficiency Combined Heat and Power (CHP) Unit at the Kardia lignite power plant, the waste processing and management project of Andros, environmental projects in Crete, as well as Germany, etc.
Accordingly, “Thalis” operates complementarily to the former. With a presence in Crete and Northern Greece, it is active in the field of energy production from waste, while offering remediation and management services for contaminated soils. To the extent that it has value, in 2024 it had assets of 84 million euros.
What Motor Oil gains
Although the question is more complex, given that the circular economy was and remains high on the agenda of the Vardinogiannis group, MOH sources note that the company is not withdrawing from the sector. They clarify that waste processing units, such as the core business of “Helector” and “Thalis”, have greater synergies with construction (AKTOR) and less with energy.
Above all, however, they stress that MOH has made the strategic decision to focus on areas of the circular economy that fit better with the group’s core business.
“We are not leaving the circular economy. Our flagship is LPC, a purely export-oriented lubricants company in about 20 countries, while the picture is complemented by Verd (Green Oil) and the recently acquired 60% of ENACT with expertise in the collection, transport and storage of waste. Besides, we retain 25% stakes in HELECTOR and Thalis”, the same sources comment.
Regarding the case of the floating terminal “Dioriga Gas”, the need for the group to find a partner had become clear some time ago. Speaking on the sidelines of the recent General Assembly, management sources had stated that the final investment decision “passes” through the signing of long-term capacity reservation contracts.
“We are waiting to see to what extent the project will become viable”, a senior group source had characteristically said, linking the issue not to securing financing support, but rather to a possible partnership with an investor.
This in turn means that to the extent AKTOR’s efforts bear fruit and it achieves the target of 4.5 bcm of contracted LNG quantities by the end of the year, the conditions are also created for capacity reservation at the FSRU, which is also the main condition for an investment of around 400 million euros to become viable.