Press Release: Summa Equity Fund I to sell Sortera to Nordic Capital

Summa Equity has signed an agreement to sell the leading environmental service provider Sortera to Nordic Capital.

Stockholm, 8 March 2021. Since Summa Equity’s acquisition of the company in 2016, Sortera has evolved from being a Stockholm based company focusing on collection of construction waste, to becoming a Nordic leader within collection, recycling, processing and sale of residual products from the building and construction sector.“Sortera has grown revenue seven-fold and operating result five-fold under our ownership, through expanding into new geographical markets and completing ten add-on acquisitions. Sortera is now well positioned to become the leading provider of environmental services for the infrastructure, construction and industry sectors in northern Europe,” says Johannes Lien, Principal at Summa Equity and Board member of Sortera.

Sortera is the 11th most sustainable company in Sweden according to the Sustainable Brand Index. By putting sustainability at its core and becoming a significant contributor to the circular economy, Sortera has increased its EBITA and experienced a 15 percent compound annual organic growth rate in net revenue between 2018 and 2020. On a pro forma basis, Sortera’s total revenues in 2020 were SEK 1.4 billion. Last year, Sortera served more than 11,000 customers and provided net CO2 savings of nearly 67,000 tonnes, only in Sweden, through its operations.

“During 2020 we further strengthened our market position and continued to invest in future growth. With our recent acquisition in Finland, we have taken the first step to replicating the success in new markets. I am proud of what we have accomplished and look forward to continuing the journey together with Nordic Capital and maintaining the best interests of our employees, customers, and suppliers,” comments Sebastian Wessman, CEO of Sortera.

“We are very pleased with completing Summa Equity’s first and very successful full exit. The Sortera growth story demonstrates that our sustainable thematic approach, and being among the first private equity firms to use the UN Sustainable Development Goals (“SDGs”) as a framework for evaluating investments, is the way forward for the industry. Sortera’s vast potential for continued rapid growth is ensured by its excellent competitive position, combined with society’s need for greater focus on the environment and sustainability, and the significant market opportunity in northern Europe,” comments Hannah Gunvor Jacobsen, Investment Director at Summa Equity and Board member of Sortera.

Lightrock, a pioneer in impact investing backed by LGT, and Sortera’s founder Conny Ryk through Ryk Group, co-invested in Sortera alongside Summa Equity in the inception of the investment. Lightrock sell its parts to Nordic Capital. Ryk Group will reinvest and remain as an investor.

The transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals. Completion of the transaction is expected in Q2 2021.
ABG Sundal Collier and Carnegie have assisted Sortera in the sales process, together with PWC and Mannheimer Swartling.

The parties have agreed not to disclose any financial details of the transaction.

For further information, please contact:

Sebastian Wessman, CEO of Sortera
+46 72 886 95 97
Sebastian.Wessman@sortera.se

Johannes Lien, Principal Summa Equity
+46 722 06 69 00
Johannes.Lien@summaequity.com

Hannah Gunvor Jacobsen, Investment Director and Head of IR Summa Equity
+47 93 64 19 60
Hannah.Jacobsen@summaequity.com

About Summa Equity

Summa Equity is a thematic investment firm defined by a purpose-driven team that has come together to invest in companies that address some of our global challenges.

Summa Equity focuses on companies in industries supported by megatrends within three themes: Resource Efficiency, Changing Demographics and Tech-Enabled Business. The firm’s investments across the three themes have the potential for long-term sustainable outperformance because they address some of the social, environmental, and business challenges we need to solve as a society.

Summa Equity have more than SEK 14 billion of assets under management. For further information on Summa Equity, please visit www.summaequity.com.

About Sortera

Sortera started out in Sweden in 2006, with the idea of assisting building and construction companies to remove residual products in an environmentally friendly, efficient and economic manner. Today, Sortera strives to be the leading environmental entrepreneur on the Nordic market, with solutions that contribute to increased sustainability and improved environmental performance in the company’s three business areas (Recycling, Industry and Materials).

The Company operates primarily within the B2B segment in Sweden and Finland through its three business areas Sortera Recycling, Sortera Materials and Sortera Industry. Sortera’s strategy entails further strengthening its position in markets where it is already present and strong, as well as expanding to new geographies, primarily in northern Europe, both organically and through acquisitions.

Sortera’s just over 420 employees are headquartered in Stockholm and has offices and production and sorting sites in central and southern Sweden as well as in Helsinki and its environs in Finland.

About Sortera’s three business areas:

• Sortera Recycling offers a broad range of products and services, catering to the recycling needs and requirements imposed on building and construction companies. Sortera provides complete end-to-end recycling solutions that include the provision of builder bags, waste bins and containers as well as services and products for managing hazardous waste products.
• Sortera Materials offers a broad range of services which include handling of heavy masses, contaminated water and soil remediation and trading in residual products. The business area also offers turnkey remediation solutions, including contact with public authorities, risk assessments, sampling, classifications, water and soil remediation, excavation work, flow logistics and documentation to customers and public authorities.
• Sortera Industry carries out services relating to the removal and replacement of dry bulk materials and liquids within the industry and the building and demolition sectors. The business area offers vacuum extraction and delivery of materials and liquids, industrial cleaning, asbestos remediation and services within water and sewerage technology.