Waste Management, Inc. announced that today it will close the acquisition of Oakleaf Global Holdings and its primary operations for $425 million, subject to working capital and other adjustments.
The combination will provide North American customers with unprecedented access to waste and recycling solutions by pairing the largest network of directly owned hauling, recycling, diversion, and disposal assets with the largest managed third-party network.
In 2010, the acquired operations of Oakleaf generated approximately $580 million in revenues. Oakleaf has a North American vendor network of 2,500 preferred haulers, and is the North American leader in outsourced hauling, disposal, waste diversion, and recycling services to support customers’ waste and recycling solutions. Oakleaf shares WM’s strategic focus on sustainability and technological innovation, and its substantial base of national accounts customers and service relationships provide a solid growth opportunity for WM.
“Acquiring Oakleaf advances our growth and transformation strategies of knowing more about our customers and how best to serve them, extracting more value from the material that we manage, and optimizing our operations. Says David P. Steiner, Waste Management CEO and president. “Importantly, Oakleaf’s vendor network expands our partnership with third-party service providers. In many cases we can provide Oakleaf’s vendor haulers with opportunities to maintain and increase their business by utilizing our extensive postcollection network.”
Steve Preston, president and CEO of Oakleaf, says, “Oakleaf brings a waste hauling, waste diversion, and recycling vendor network, along with a shared focus on customers. I am confident that our customers will benefit from WM’s material recovery strategies that provide customers with multiple options. Our vendor hauler partners will also benefit from the increased array of services that they can offer to their customers, enabling them to grow their businesses further.”
This acquisition aligns with Waste Management’s financial goals of growing earnings, expanding margins, increasing free cash flow, and increasing returns on invested capital. The company expects a three to six month integration period.
