Mineris, the French leader in voluntary drop-off point collection infrastructure, opens a new chapter in its development with its acquisition by a group of investor-entrepreneurs brought together in Artépolis.
The founders Thierry de Chirée and Pierre Hornung, alongside management, are reinvesting significantly in the transaction.
Mineris, the French leader in waste collection via voluntary drop-off points (“VDPs”), as well as in container washing and maintenance, announces its backing by a group of majority investors brought together in Artépolis, who were previously behind the success of Epolia, which became one of Europe’s leading car park management companies in the 2000s (Artéus and Ophiliam & Cie).
Its founders, Thierry de Chirée and Pierre Hornung, are reinvesting in the transaction to support the group’s next phase of expansion and are retaining their operational roles to ensure a smooth management transition.
The new group of majority shareholders is supported by Épopée Gestion, Omada, Smalt Capital, Malakoff Humanis and several individual entrepreneurs.
The Crédit Agricole group (IDIA Capital Investissement and SOFIPACA), BNP Paribas Développement and Société Générale Capital Partenaires form a group of minority shareholders that is also supporting the transaction.
BNP Paribas and Caisse d’Epargne – CEPAC are arranging the financing of the transaction and have brought together a banking pool that includes Artemid, LCL and BPMed.
The group also has more than €70 million of available capital (equity and debt) to support its development, through both organic and external growth.
This transaction marks the exit of Bpifrance, Garibaldi Participations and Naxicap (formerly Alliance Entreprendre), minority shareholders that joined Mineris’s capital in 2020.
An infrastructure group serving local authorities
Founded in 2000 in Avignon, Mineris generates close to €100 million in revenue and has established itself as the leading French operator of VDP collection. The group is notably the undisputed leader in household glass collection. It is also the leading French player in the washing of wheelie bins and VDP columns, as well as in the preventive and corrective maintenance of waste containers. It also carries out numerous related services for local authorities.
The group has (i) a portfolio of around 600 contracts with local authorities, with an average term of 5 to 6 years, indexed to inflation and with a very high renewal rate, providing strong revenue recurrence and low exposure to economic cycles, as well as (ii) top-tier infrastructure that is very difficult to replicate, with a national network of branches covering the entire country and the largest fleet on the French market (400 specialized vehicles, including a growing share of electric vehicles).
This density of assets and contracts makes Mineris a model of infrastructure services for local authorities.
A structurally supportive and predictable market
Mineris operates in a market that benefits from particularly favorable long-term trends. VDP collection meets local authorities’ growing need to control the cost and carbon footprint of waste management, while increasing sorting and recycling rates.
The French VDP collection market will continue to grow in the coming years, driven in particular by the increasing share of VDP collection compared with door-to-door collection, as well as the rise in sorting.
In this context, Mineris enjoys a particularly favorable position: national leadership, operational expertise, a presence across the entire country, growing network density, long-standing relationships with local authorities and a proven ability to integrate acquisitions. The group has thus completed around 25 external growth transactions since its creation, while maintaining sustained organic growth.
Mineris has also gradually extended its expertise beyond glass collection, notably to other waste streams, container washing, and corrective and preventive maintenance of those same containers, of which the group is also the undisputed leader.
This momentum has enabled the group to grow from €39 million in revenue in 2020 to nearly €100 million expected in 2026. The group aims to double its revenue over the next 5 years while strengthening the ESG characteristics of its model, notably through the electrification of its fleet of specialized vehicles.
Thierry de Chirée and Pierre Hornung, founders of Mineris, state:
“Since Mineris was founded, our ambition has always been to build the best operator in its market, serving local authorities and their residents. Since 2020, we have reached a major milestone and more than doubled the size of the group. We have chosen to build a new chapter with partners who share our entrepreneurial DNA and are able to support Mineris over the long term. Our reinvestment and the continuation of our commercial and operational support reflect our confidence in the group’s considerable potential and our determination to continue this adventure alongside Artépolis and its partners.”