• NEXTCHEM raises its existing stake from 51% to 85% in both:
  •  MyReplast Industries S.r.l., which operates an innovative plant to produce high-purity recycled and compounded polymers
  • MyReplast S.r.l., which owns NX Replast proprietary technology
• The transaction strengthens NEXTCHEM’s technological assets in a key segment for the energy transition, witnessing a growing demand for circular polymers driven by regulatory pressures and off-takers' voluntary commitments
  
  
  

Milan, 22 April 2024 – Another strategic milestone for NEXTCHEM: its subsidiary NextChem Tech has acquired an additional 34% stake in both MyReplast IndustriesS.r.l. and MyReplast S.r.l. from an existing stakeholder. The transaction allows NextChem Tech to increase its interest from 51% to 85% of the share capital of both companies, while the remaining 15% is still held by a local entrepreneur. The overall maximum consideration is about €8.9 million, of which €5.1 million due by closing and €3.8 million deferred (including an earn-out) to be paid on an annual basis according to several milestones until 31 December 2027.

Based in Bedizzole (Northern Italy), MyReplast Industries has been part of the NextChem family since 2019, representing the flagship of the upcycling business cluster which also includes other production and trading entities based in the UAE. In Italy, it owns and operates the Bedizzole industrial plant which applies an innovative mechanical upcycling process to produce high-purity recycled and compounded polymers (“r-polymers”) based on NX Replastproprietary technology patented by MyReplast S.r.l. These recycled polymers are suitable to replace fossil-based virgin materials in several industrial applications (such as automotive, pipes, building applications, etc.). NX Replast proprietary technology has recently been selected by Aliplast, part of Italian multiutility Hera Group, for its new plastic upcycling project to be implemented in Modena. MyReplast Industries, after having increased the Bedizzole plant production capacity up to 40,000 tons per year of polyolefin rigid plastic waste, has recently been selected - in the framework of Italy’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan - to receive funding for an innovative circular economy project to enhance process automation, ensuring the highest level of safety and quality of the production lines.

Amidst the escalating waste crisis and the pervasive environmental impact of plastic, the imperative shift towards circular solutions emerges as the optimal path forward, supported by regulatory pressures and off-takers’ voluntary commitments. This is particularly crucial in light of the expanding polymers market, which has witnessed a quadruple surge in global plastic consumption over the last three decades[1]. In this view, MyReplast has a solid procedural system ensuring to their products a comprehensive set of certifications, accrediting the quality of the product itself and the reliability of the supply chain (ISO, Plastica Seconda Vita, EuroCert).

MAIRE Group's CEO Alessandro Bernini said: "This transaction shows our determination to achieve the goals of MAIRE’s strategic plan by strengthening the Group’s technological assets. In doing so, we are also increasing our commitment to the circular economy while improving NextChem’s positioning as technology solutions provider in the energy transition.”

[1] Source: OECD 2022 Global Plastics Outlook.