FCC acquires two US oil waste treatment firms from Siemens

12 December 2007

MADRID – Spanish construction and services group Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas (FCC) said yesterday it had acquired two US subsidiaries specialised in the treatment and recovery of industrial oils from Siemens Water Technologies Corp.

In a statement to the National Securities Commission (CNMV), FCC said it paid USD 182.5 million (EUR 124 million) for Hydrocarbon Recovery Services (HRS) and International Petroleum Corp, equivalent to nine times estimated gross operating earnings for next year.

The two companies will be integrated into FCC’s industrial waste management division FCC Ámbito. As a result of the deal, FCC, which is controlled by leading Spanish businesswoman Esther Koplowitz, will become the second-largest player in the US industrial waste-oil treatment sector.

“The acquisition is a further step in the FCC’s strategy of expanding in the United States and strengthening its environmental-management activities, a field in which FCC is the outright leader in Spain,” the statement said.

HRS and International Petroleum operate in 21 states in the Mid-Atlantic, southeast and south-central regions of the United States. The acquired group, which is based in Houston, Texas, has 38 industrial plants, a fleet of 362 vehicles, and 528 employees. It is expected to obtain USD 140 million dollars in revenues in 2008.

Subject: Spanish news