China Everbright International Limited has announced that it has completed its acquisition of Novago, a leading solid waste treatment company in Poland.

The acquisition was approximately €123 million (US$137 million), including an equity purchase price of €118 million (US$132 million) and €5 million (US$5.6 million) for the land bank.

The acquisition marks the beginning of the group's foray into the European waste treatment industry and another step forward in the implementation of Everbright International's strategy of developing from domestic to overseas markets. 

The overseas acquisition is the first Sino-Polish cooperation project China Everbright Group has committed to implementing since President Xi Jinping's visit to Poland in June 2016. Everbright International signed the preliminary sale and purchase agreement on 23 June and successfully closed the deal on 29 August, which marks a watershed moment for the environmental protection industry in Central and Eastern Europe as it is the largest such acquisition to be made by a Chinese company.

Established in 1992, NOVAGO owns six technologically-advanced integrated waste treatment plants located across four provinces in Poland, which had a combined solid waste treatment volume of 890,000 tonnes in 2015. The company was named one of Poland's Most Dynamic Companies by Forbes in 2016 and Poland's Fastest Growing Company by Gazele Biznesu in 2015. 

Mr. Chen Xiaoping, CEO of Everbright International, said:

"This acquisition has been made possible by the good potential for technological cooperation between our two companies. Everbright International is already very sophisticated in terms of waste incineration technologies and equipment manufacturing capability while NOVAGO is the largest independent solid waste treatment company in Poland. We will capitalize on the influence of NOVAGO in Poland to promote the application of Everbright International's advanced technologies in environmental protection, renewable energy and equipment manufacturing in the environmental sector of Central and Eastern Europe. With the national "One Belt, One Road" initiative in mind, Everbright International will continue to look for more business cooperation opportunities further afield through suitable investment opportunities in different overseas markets."