20 November 2009 — Drake & Scull International PJSC (DSI) today announced the acquisition of Passavant-Roediger, a global developer of wastewater, water and sludge treatment technologies with over 5,000 installations and a presence in 13 countries across Europe, Middle East, North Africa and Asia.
The enterprise value of this acquisition is AED 145 million.
Under the acquisition agreement, DSI will own 82% of Passavant-Roediger. The remaining 18% will remain with Bilfinger Berger, a publically listed German company internationally active in construction services.
The official signing took place this afternoon with Majid Al Ghurair, Chairman of Drake & Scull International signing the agreement in the presence of Joachim Foerderer, Managing Director of Bilfinger Berger Facility Services.
As DSI’s first acquisition since listing with the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) in March 2009, it is seen as an integral step in the company’s development and implementation of its long term strategy.
“This is a strategic acquisition that realises the company’s plans for both vertical and horizontal expansions,” says DSI CEO, Khaldoun Tabari. “It gives DSI vertical expansion by adding to the services that the company offers, and horizontal expansion through opening new markets and providing the company with a larger geographical reach.”
“The engineering projects taken by Passavant-Roediger will also generate revenues for DSI’s other business streams including MEP and Civil Contracting, as wastewater and water treatment plants require engineering, procurement and construction disciplines, which can be accumulatively provided by DSI.”
“We will continue to exploit every opportunity to support the expansion and growth of our company in the same manner we have undertaken every endeavour in DSI’s long history in the Middle East.”
Passavant – Roediger’s solutions will extend DSI’s ability to deliver superior services to the region, which will continue to position DSI as a leading end to end provider in the construction industry.
“With the rapid growth of population and expanding urbanisation, water, wastewater and sludge treatment issues have become some of the most important issues for governments and authorities all over the world,” explains Tabari.
“There is a clear need for water, wastewater and sludge treatment solutions in the Gulf as the population grows rapidly and the shortage of water availability increases. Abu Dhabi has the highest average water consumption per capita in the region so we need to make sure that the water being consumed is treated and reused efficiently if we want to sustain our resources and environment for the future.”
“From a business perspective, the wastewater and water treatment business is underserved in the MENA region, unlike North America and Europe, and there is an immediate need in the market for additional infrastructure networks and plants. Research shows that around USD 25 billion per annum is currently being spent on wastewater treatment worldwide, with demand set to rise sharply in the coming years, exceeding USD 81 billion by 2012. Key growth areas will be China, India and the Middle East, with each increasing their annual investments in wastewater treatment by more than 8%.”
Passavant-Roediger currently operates in, Romania, Hungary, Poland, Croatia, Germany, Algeria, UAE, Turkey and China with projects around the world including Algeria, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, UAE and Saudi Arabia. The company’s current backlog stands at over AED 450 million.
The company has advanced research and development centres for wastewater, water and sludge treatment, providing unparalleled solutions including; Raw Water Treatment; Desalination/Demineralisation; Ground Water and Surface Water treatment; Treatment of Residues; Municipal wastewater treatment; Industrial wastewater treatment; Sludge treatment; Mechanical & Biological Waste Treatment.
“With this acquisition DSI will become a key regional player in the wastewater treatment industry, bringing in to the region truly Global innovative solutions backed up with 40 years’ of local experience in procurement, engineering and construction capabilities.”
About Drake & Scull International PJSC
Drake & Scull International is an integrated end-to-end service provider in the field of electrical and mechanical engineering and has provided innovative solutions to customers since its inception in the UAE in 1966. Our expertise in mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) contracting spans from providing complete solutions through Design and Build to Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC), and civil contracting services across the Emirates as well as maintenance and operations of District Cooling Plants across the Middle East and North Africa.
About Passavant-Roediger GmbH
Passavant-Roediger GmbH, Hanau is a global leading specialist engineering, procurement construction (EPC) provider of turnkey waste water treatment plants, drinking water structures and industrial process water plants. The company has its core expertise in a highly regarded sludge digestion technology which has been built into hundreds of waste water treatment plants all over the world. It mainly focuses on public sector clients in Eastern Europe, China and the MENA region benefitting from high growth rates of the water industry and infrastructure build up globally.
Passavant-Roediger develops and provides leading unrivalled technologies and processes in municipal wastewater treatment, sludge treatment, water treatment and industrial wastewater treatment, including the company’s unique in-house developed world renowned sludge digestion technology which is a pioneering system for the production of usable materials from sewage sludge. The company also developed the Lamella separator technology for water treatment, which is a Passavant-Roediger perfected four stage processes used during the first stage of water treatment.
About Bilfinger Berger Facility Services GmbH
Bilfinger Berger Facility Services GmbH, Neu-Isenburg is Germany’s largest multi-services provider for the real estate industry. The service offering comprises integrated facility services, property management, infrastructure services to the health care industry, hazardous waste management and remediation services as well as services and product solutions to the water and wastewater industry.
CONTACTS
Drake & Scull International PJSC
Mariana Missakian
Corporate Communications Manager
T: +971 4 8112300
m.missakian@drake-scull.ae
Cicero & Bernay Public Relations
Tariq Al Sharabi
Account Director
Mobile: +971 50 626 5535
Tele: + 971 4 334 2966
tariq@cbpr.ae
