In 2012, there have been several corporate movements within the water sector. There are several strategic reasons for each of them, ranging from internationalisation, build-up or diversification.
MAT holding leads a build-up linking several national wastewater treatment plants
In 2012, the Matosas family's phytosanitary group closed the acquisition of the 100% of Depumeda company from Seville that designs and manages wastewater treatment plants. The company, which employs 12 people, has a turnover of two million euros. It is strongly established in Andalusia and has a delegation in Morocco.
«El grupo ya participaba en CIM Water situada en la zona del mediterráneo con un 30% y ha comunicado su interés en adquirir otra empresa del sector en la zona norte de España para consolidar un grupo que abarque las principales zonas del territorio español. Es un buen ejemplo de proceso de build-up juntando empresas locales de tamaño pequeño» comenta Diego Gutiérrez experto en finanzas corporativas en Abra Invest.
Fluidra y Grupotec acquire to internationalise
Fluidra, a group specialising in applications for the sustainable use of water, has opened a subsidiary in Indonesia. Located in the country's capital, Jakarta, the branch office completes the group's internationalisation plans in Southeast Asia, an area in which it is already present in China, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. The company, which will operate in the Asian country as Fluidra Indonesia, is entering this new market thanks to the acquisition of Dunia Renang, the second largest pool company in the country, with a market share of 20% and a turnover of 3 million euros.
The company Técnicas Valencianas del Agua (Tecvasa), created fifteen years ago by a group of Valencian companies linked in different areas to the integral water cycle business with the financial support of CAM, has decided to resume its initial commitment: the development of this business in Latin American countries. These plans come with the help of a new majority shareholder, Grupotec, which at the end of last year reached an agreement with the rest of the shareholders to take control, through a €2.4m increase to take over 54% of the company specialising in the complete water cycle, in which it already had a majority stake. Its intention is to resume its development in Latin America and seek synergies in the environmental sector.
A very broad sector with many applications
There are several other corporate operations in the sector and almost none of them have any similarities. For example, the Biscayan company MTS VAlves & Technology has sold its desalination division to the American group Victaulic. «No ha sido la única empresa vasca que ha movido ficha en el sector. El grupo tecnológico EGILE has entered the engineering firm Tecexsa, which specialises in water treatment systems, through its subsidiary Leorpe Workshops. Es un movimiento relacionado con la estrategia de diversificación sectorial del grupo. Quiere aplicar sus capacidades tecnológicas en diversos sectores además del aeronáutico y sanitario en el que ya tiene una presencia significativa en la actualidad» analiza Diego Gutierrez.