TOMRA has acquired 80% of shares in c-trace, the leading provider of data-driven digitalization solutions for the waste management industry

Livingstone has acted as exclusive M&A advisor for the founders and shareholders of c-trace in the sale of 80% of the company’s shares to TOMRA. The transaction is the result of a structured sales process conducted by Livingstone.

c-trace, founded in 2005, offers advanced solutions that combine software and hardware modules to digitize and improve the process for waste management operations. As municipalities and industries increasingly seek to reduce inefficiencies and comply with stricter environmental regulations, demand for these solutions is rising. Through its innovative solutions and strong customer base, c-trace has a leading position in Germany, the largest market in Europe. Its strong focus on new AI driven capabilities has generated market interest and is opening new market opportunities in the segment. Employing around 120 people, c-trace generates 80% of its sales in Germany and has shown consistent annual growth of more than 15% over the past 3 years. The company’s revenues in the last twelve months amounted to EUR 21 million with 23% EBIT margin.

TOMRA was founded in 1972 and works with transforming how business and society obtain, use and reuse the planet’s resources. The company’s advanced collection and sorting technology supports the transition to a circular economy, optimizes resource use and minimizes waste in the food, recycling, and mining industries. TOMRA has approximately 110,000 installations in over 100 markets worldwide and had total revenues of about EUR 1,288 million in 2023. The Group employs 5,400 globally and is publicly listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange. The company headquarters are in Asker, Norway.

“We are very enthusiastic about joining forces with c-trace. This allows TOMRA to broaden our offering in the waste management and recycling space and adds new digitalization capabilities across the recycling value chain. Combining TOMRA’s solutions and customer base with c-trace, we can drive innovation and unlock new markets opportunities. Over the next years, our priority will be to expand c-trace’s international presence by utilizing TOMRA’s global footprint. Ultimately, our common ambition is to increase collection and recycling rates – turning more waste into valuable resources – by shaping tomorrow’s recycling infrastructure,” said Tove Andersen, President and CEO of TOMRA.

“We look forward to joining the TOMRA family and see this as the optimal home for the next phase in the growth journey of c-trace. Together with TOMRA we can unlock further value through collaborating on innovation, but also through leveraging TOMRA’s international footprint and customer base to reach new customers in new geographies,” the Founders and Shareholders of c-trace, Helmut Ziegler, Torsten Olschewsky, and Michael Eikelmann, said in a joint statement. “We would like to thank the Livingstone deal team for successfully advising us on this transaction. They guided us through a complex sales process with utmost expertise and diligence. Their swift execution, the high quality of their work and their continuous availability ensured that we felt perfectly supported at all times. Working with Livingstone was not only highly professional, but also a lot of fun.”

“It is always a challenge to design and implement a structured succession solution, but for c-trace this could be achieved ideally. Going forward with a strong partner who, as a product and solution provider for waste management, perfectly understands c-trace’s business, has a high level of technological expertise and can create numerous international access points, c-trace is ideally positioned for the future,“ said Ralph Hagelgans, Partner at Livingstone.

“A smooth and structured sell-side process can be particularly challenging for medium-sized growth companies due to the high level of operational resources involved in daily business activities. Hence, it requires thorough preparation and comprehensive transaction support, both of which we successfully realized in very intense collaboration with the shareholders. We would like to thank c-trace for the close and trustful cooperation,” said Frederik Schreurs, Director at Livingstone.

TOMRA will initially acquire 80% of the shares in c-trace, with an option for the remaining 20%, which are held by the founders, after 2 years. The addition of c-trace will support TOMRA’s goal of driving additional profitable growth and diversifying its revenue streams while broadening its market impact.