Waste Management Increases Offer for Republic by 10% to $6.73 B
Waste Management, Inc., as expected, increased its unsolicited cash offer for rival Republic Services, Inc. by nearly 10% to $6.73 billion or from $34 per share to $37 per share, and has proposed to pay Republic a fee of $250 million if the two companies are unable to close a transaction in the event that the U.S. Department of Justice opposes the deal. Waste Management said that its new offer represents a premium of 32.6% over Republic's closing stock price on July 11, 2008, the last trading day prior to Waste Management's announcement of its initial offer. Republic Services, which had previously reached an agreement to merge with Allied Waste Industries, Inc., responded to Waste Management's new offer by saying that it will "carefully review" the proposal "consistent with its fiduciary duties." Allied Waste Chairman and CEO John Zillmer was less reserved in his response, however. "Despite strong opposition from its own shareholders and other constituencies, and the severe antitrust regulatory and financing challenges associated with its unsolicited proposal to acquire Republic, Waste Management is pushing ahead with its attempt to disrupt our two companies' strategic plans with another offer that pales in comparison to the significant value that will be generated through the combination of Republic and Allied," Zillmer said in press release."...Read More »
Allied Waste CEO Has Harsh Words for Waste Management
Allied Waste Industries Inc.'s CEO John Zillmer has harsh words for rival Waste Management, Inc. which has raised its offer for Republic Services, Inc. despite that company's plans to merge with Allied (announced June 23). In its effort to thwart the Allied-Republic merger, Waste Management recently increased its offer by 10% to $6.73 billion or $37 per share. "Despite strong opposition from its own shareholders and other constituencies, and the severe antitrust regulatory and financing challenges associated with its unsolicited proposal to acquire Republic, Waste Management is pushing ahead with its attempt to disrupt our two companies' strategic plans," Allied chief executive John Zillmer said in a recent statement. "The revised offer of $37 per share remains inferior to the range of values supporting the merger of Republic and Allied Waste."...Read More »
Bill Gates is Accumulating Republic Shares
Bill Gates' investment arm Cascade Investment LLC has made a number of purchases of Republic Services, Inc. stock in recent days. According to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, his stake currently amounts to 30.7 million shares which is close to about 17% of the company. Late last month, Republic's board of directors adopted poison pill measures aimed to thwart Waste Management's unsolicited offer for the company. The measures penalize purchasers of more than 10% of company stock without board approval, but provide an exception for Cascade Investment which already owned 15% is allowed to accumulate up to 20%...Read More »
Pennsylvania Approves Conestoga Landfill Gas-to-Energy Project
The Pennsylvania DEP has approved plans by the Conestoga Landfill in Berks County to construct a $10 million treatment plant and 9-mile pipeline in order to ship its gas to Lancaster County where it will help power local industry. Project developer Granger Energy had to acquire a 27-acre site adjacent to the landfill to construct the large treatment plant which dries and filters the gas to make it suitable for export. The pipeline will eventually connect with another that takes gas from the nearby Lanchester Landfill in Narvon, PA. Taken together, the Conestoga and Lanchester landfill gas projects are expected to produce the energy equivalent of 200,000 barrels of oil annually, while eliminating air emissions equal to the output of 16,000 vehicles, according to reports...Read More »
Duke Energy Signs Landfill Gas Deal in Durham, NC
Duke Energy has signed a 20-year agreement to buy power created from methane gas captured from a now closed City of Durham, NC landfill. Beginning on May 1, Duke Energy will begin buying up to 2 megawatts of power, enough to power 1,600 homes, from project developer Methane Power Inc. Tapping the gas to generate electricity is part of a broader effort by the Charlotte utility to increase its use of renewable energy sources to stem global warming. By state law, utilities must use renewables and conservation to meet 12.5% of their sales by 2021. Methane Power will install internal combustion engines to burn the gas and generate the power...Read More »
BFI Canada Posts a Very Strong 2Q
BFI Canada Income Fund reported second quarter net income that nearly tripled to $15 million, or $0.26 per share from $5.8 million, or $0.10 per share last year. According to CEO Keith Carrigan, "Consolidated revenues in the second quarter and year to date grew 31.6% and 32.7% respectively, excluding the impact of foreign currency translation. Our second quarter and year to date organic revenue, which excludes acquisitions, fuel and environmental surcharges, and foreign currency translation, grew by 11.1% and 12.2% in Canada, and 6.2% and 6.2% in the U.S." In its conference call with investors, the company said it was considering shedding its six-year-old trust structure as a strategy to improve access to capital. Increasing industry mergers and acquisitions, including talks between Waste Management, Republic and Allied, are said to be drawing other companies into the fray, particularly if the bigger firms are forced to divest assets as a precondition of their deal...Read More »
Veolia Environnement Makes Chicago North American Home
Paris-based environmental services giant Veolia Environnement SA is establishing its North American headquarters in Chicago. The company will consolidate about 60 executives and support personnel that had been dispersed at offices in several cities to a 34,500 square foot floor of the Aon Center skyscraper. Veolia, founded in the mid-19th Century, is the largest water firm in the world. It has 320,000 workers and had $48 billion in gross revenues last year. Its operations in waste collection and disposal, energy conservation, water treatment and transportation employ 31,000 in North America and produced revenues of $4.5 billion last year. The company operates 32 landfills and 10 waste-to-energy projects in North America...Read More »
Veolia ES Names New Head of Hazardous Waste Division
Veolia ES Technical Solutions, L.L.C., the hazardous waste division of Veolia Environmental Services, has named Jim Bell as its new president and CEO. Bell, who was previously vice president of eastern region operations at Veolia ES Technical Solutions, replaces Philippe Martin, who has been appointed to the position of vice president of innovation and technology for Paris-based Veolia Environnement. "My overriding objective is to continue the exceptional growth of the Technical Solutions business by building upon improvements in the quality of our people, safety in the workplace, and efficiencies in facilities and services, including expanding our recycling and reclaim capabilities," Bell said upon assuming his new duties on August 1...Read More »
EnergySolutions Profits Double in Second Quarter
EnergySolutions said second quarter profits doubled to $12.6 million, or $0.14 per share, from $6 million earned in the same period last year. The company's acquisition of British Reactor Sites Management Co. in June 2007 helped to nearly triple revenues for the quarter to $460 million from $162 million last year. "In this, our second full quarter as a public company, I am very pleased with the performance of each of our business units and the progress each has made in executing our long-term strategic goals," said R. Steve Creamer, EnergySolutions' CEO. While revenues increased for federal services and international operations, those of the commercial services division declined on lower volume at the company's low-level radioactive and hazardous waste site in Tooele County...Read More »
Changing World Technologies Files for IPO
Changing World Technologies Inc., which produces diesel oil and fertilizer from animal and food processing waste, is filing paperwork to go public. The West Hempstead, N.Y.-based company said it has filed the paperwork with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission "relating to the proposed initial public offering of its common stock." The company's demonstration plant in Carthage, MO, has gained attention for converting turkey waste into oil...Read More »
GreenMan Technologies Posts 42% Revenue Increase
Savage, Minn.-based GreenMan Technologies Inc. said that improved sales of processed scrap tires and income from discontinued operations in Georgia boosted second quarter revenues by 42% to $7.6 million compared to $5.3 million last year. Net income rose to $3 million, or $0.10 per share, from $314,000, or $0.01 per share last year. "Our focus during the past two years on quality of revenue, earnings and cash flow has created significant internal value that is not easily recognized due to the historical debt on our balance sheet," said Lyle Jensen, president and CEO. GreenMan recycles more than 12 million tires annually into tire-derived fuel, aggregate and crumb rubber...Read More »
Avalon Holdings Q2 Profit Down Slightly
Avalon Holdings Corp. reported second quarter net income of $0.3 million or $0.07 per share, lower than $0.4 million or $0.10 per share in the year-ago quarter. Last year's earnings however, included $0.1 million or $0.03 per share from discontinued operations. Revenues for the second quarter increased to $11.7 million from $11.5 million in the same quarter a year-ago. Avalon provides waste management services in selected northeastern and Midwestern markets and owns the Avalon Golf and Country Club which operates golf courses...Read More »
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