Battery recycler Ecobat has sold its lead and lead-alloy production subsidiary Ecobat Resources Stolberg and the associated Stolberg multi-metals processing plant in Germany to commodities firm Trafigura Group.
The firms have entered into a binding agreement for the sale of German-based Ecobat Resources Stolberg, with the sale due to be completed in the third quarter of this year.
The Stolberg plant will be operated and managed by metals mining and smelting company Nyrstar, which is 98% owned by the Trafigura Group.
Ecobat has operations in Europe, the US, and Africa, and focuses on lead and lithium battery collection and recycling.
Marcus Randolph, CEO of Ecobat, said the sale was consistent with the firm’s strategy to concentrate on battery recycling and represented a significant step in the “rationalisation” of its portfolio.
Nyrstar operates three European zinc smelters within 300-kilometers of the Stolberg plant, which offers the opportunity to leverage several of its by-products as feed material for the Stolberg business.
The transaction is subject to the satisfaction of customary conditions precedent including the receipt of certain regulatory approvals.