The Belgian metal recycling group Campine has announced plans to acquire three industrial sites in France, including two dedicated to battery recycling. This strategic move comes at the expense of expanding its smelting operations in Belgium. The company cited the complex nature of the Belgian permitting process as a key factor in its decision.
Campine, which is headquartered in Beerse, has submitted a binding offer for three facilities belonging to Ecobat France, a battery recycling specialist. The deal includes a recycling plant in Bazoches-les-Gallerandes, a recycling plant in Pont-Sainte-Maxence, and a site producing semi-finished lead products in Estrées-Saint-Denis. According to Campine, these French assets generated around €100 million in revenue in 2023 and were profitable.
Ecobat’s assets are highly complementary to our existing operations in France
Notably, Campine CEO Wim De Vos confirmed that the acquisition replaces earlier plans to expand smelting capacity in Belgium. “Ecobat’s assets are highly complementary to our existing operations in France,” he stated. “Ecobat France offers unused smelting capacity, while we have a surplus of recyclable material in France. This transaction allows us to avoid the complex and time-consuming permitting procedures required to expand in Belgium.”
Campine has not disclosed the financial terms of the acquisition. The publicly listed Flemish company expects to finalise the deal by July 2025, pending regulatory approval.
Soaring antimony prices
In the meantime, the company is experiencing strong growth, driven by soaring antimony prices following Chinese export restrictions. “In recent months, we’ve received orders from new clients worldwide,'”says De Vos. “Global sales of antimony trioxide are up by an average of 35%, and overseas volumes have more than doubled, offsetting weaker demand in Europe.”
We expect much higher revenue and profit
The price of antimony has surged to around $60,000 (€55,200) per tonne, enabling Campine to raise its product prices significantly. “At this level, we expect much higher revenue and profit,” adds De Vos.
Volatile markets
For the first half of the year, the company is expecting revenue of around €380 million and EBITDA of at least €50 million – already surpassing the full-year 2024 figures of a record €365 million in revenue and €42 million in EBITDA, largely thanks to high antimony prices.
However, Campine warns that markets remain extremely volatile, making it difficult to forecast price developments or sustained sales growth. Consequently, no full-year outlook for 2025 has been issued.
