Newsletter Sept. 2023

Marking its initial platform investment in the plastic recycling space, Vidia Climate Fund I has acquired specialized plastic recycling company Best Plastic Management GmbH (BPM) through newly established PolymerCycle GmbH. BPM’s succession situation and organic as well as inorganic scale-up potential in combination with its superior CO₂ avoidance fully match Vidia’s investment strategy of maximizing both impact and financial return.

The family-run business specializes in the disposal and recycling of post-industrial plastic waste. At their site near Bremen, Germany, BPM generates an output of 20,000 metric tons of recycled material per year. Providing expansion capital and the necessary operational support, Vidia intends to scale capacity by up to 40,000 metric tons. The resulting output of up to 60,000 tons per year would turn the new portfolio company into one of the leading plastic recycling companies in the DACH region, securing a spot among the top 5 players in the long run.

“This acquisition represents a milestone for our plastic recycling strategy,” says Johanna Struthmann, Founding Partner of Vidia. The investment is emblematic for the strategy and philosophy behind our fund, as BPM exhibits a high collinearity of financial and impact return based on the parameters of our Vidia evaluation matrix. Our team has collaborated on numerous successful scale-ups as well as investments into the recycling industry in the past, and we look forward to developing BPM together with management.”

Climate Impact: CO₂ reduction of more than 3,000 tons p.a., per million Euro invested

Recycling is a sub-sector of Vidia’s core themes of Circular Economy, Electrification and Industrial Materials, which are anchored in the Vidia founding principle: driving decarbonization of the highest emitting industries by scaling existing climate solutions. Proven technologies across these sectors have the highest chance of rapid and meaningful CO₂ reduction. Adding value across the board, Vidia transforms operations to improve efficiency and scale relevant technologies. Employing sub-sector-specific deal sourcing strategies, the Vidia team actively identifies and evaluates suitable candidates with transformation potential. BPM was approached well before a structured sales process was kicked off, while partnering with the owner throughout a focused and pragmatic due diligence process.
In terms of CO₂ avoidance potential, BPM performs high on the Vidia climate impact matrix. The company anticipates an avoidance of over 3,000 tons of CO₂ emissions p.a., per million Euro invested with further potential following a full ramp-up of capacity.

Growth strategy with operational commitment

Over the last 30 years, BPM’s corporate development has been characterized by steady growth through a dedicated management team and continuous expansion investments. Vidia’s investment now aims to elevate the company to new heights. In the fragmented but growing plastic recycling market, the targeted production capacity of 60,000 metric tons p.a. provides a strategic advantage and an attractive value proposition for blue-chip customers. Through selected additional acquisitions by the PolymerCycle platform, a further diversification of waste streams with a simultaneous increase in internal value add is targeted. In addition, BPM offers further potential in the optimization of operational processes – especially in the areas of sales and sourcing, product controlling and asset utilization. Operational improvement will be achieved through a joint effort between BPM management and the Vidia team.

“Vidia’s approach convinced me immediately,” says Stephanie Kötter-Gribbe, CEO and former shareholder of BPM. “Vidia is committed to actively growing BPM as an operationally engaged partner. With their hands-on mentality and focus on measurable impact, I’m convinced we can achieve our scale up and climate impact objectives. Already during the due diligence phase, we defined a capacity expansion roadmap for our site – now it’s time for implementation.”