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- WCA Waste Corporation
WCA Waste Corporation Acquisition, Valuation, Funding & Investors
WCA Waste Corporation was acquired by GFL Environmental for $1.2B in August 2020, a 3.0x multiple on $400M of revenue.
WCA Waste Corporation revenue at acquisition
$400M
Last twelve months · Aug 2020
WCA Waste Corporation revenue multiple at acquisition
3.0x
EV/Revenue · Aug 2020
Cumulative funding WCA Waste Corporation raised
$75M
across 1 funding round
About WCA Waste Corporation
WCA Waste Corporation is a Houston, Texas-based non-hazardous solid waste company that collects, transports, processes and disposes of waste for residential, commercial and industrial customers. It runs a vertically integrated network that, at its 2020 sale, comprised 37 collection and hauling operations, 27 transfer stations, three material recovery facilities and 22 landfills, served by more than 1,000 collection vehicles across 11 states, with key markets in Texas, Missouri and Florida. WCA earns revenue from collection services and from disposal at its own transfer stations and landfills, and generated annualised revenue of roughly $400 million with almost 1,600 employees. The company was founded in 2000 by Tom Fatjo, who had earlier founded Browning-Ferris Industries, and grew through acquisitions of regional haulers and landfills. Macquarie Infrastructure Partners II took WCA private in March 2012 at $6.50 per share, in a deal valued at about $526 million. On 1 October 2020 GFL Environmental completed its purchase of WCA and its subsidiaries from the Macquarie fund for $1.212 billion, adding the business to GFL's U.S. solid waste platform.
Founded
2000
HQ
Website
Status
Acquired
Customer focus
B2B & B2C
Revenue model
Services
Revenue
$400M (Aug 2020)
Valuation
$1.2B (acquired Aug 2020)
WCA Waste Corporation Acquisition
WCA Waste Corporation was acquired by GFL Environmental for $1.2B on 12 August 2020.
The acquisition price implies a 3.0x revenue multiple on $400M of revenue.
Before the acquisition WCA Waste Corporation had raised $75M across 1 funding round.
WCA Waste Corporation operated a vertically-integrated network of solid waste assets across 11 U.S. states with an established regional platform in the Midwest and Southeast. The company's operations included 37 collection and hauling operations, 27 transfer stations, 3 material recovery facilities, and 22 landfills supported by over 1,000 collection vehicles. Texas, Missouri, and Florida accounted for 81% of WCA's revenue, with collection representing 69% of overall revenue. GFL Environmental, a North American diversified environmental services company, agreed to acquire WCA from Macquarie Infrastructure Partners II for US$1.212 billion. The transaction was announced on August 12, 2020, with definitive agreement execution on the same date. The acquisition was subject to U.S. Department of Justice approval under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act, which was granted on September 29, 2020. The deal closed on October 1, 2020, as expected. GFL financed the acquisition through US$600 million in proceeds from a private placement of perpetual convertible preferred shares to HPS Investment Partners, along with cash on hand and capacity under its revolving credit facility. Upon closing, GFL expanded its operations to 27 U.S. states and 9 Canadian provinces, strengthening its geographic footprint and creating opportunities for synergistic tuck-in acquisitions and meaningful free cash flow accretion.
| Acquirer | Date | Type | Price | EV/Revenue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 Aug 2020 | Strategic M&A | $1.2B | 3.0x |
WCA Waste Corporation Funding History
WCA Waste Corporation has raised a total of $75M across 1 funding round.
WCA Waste Corporation funding rounds
| Date | Stage | Investors | Raised | Deal Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 2006 | Undisclosed stage | Ares Management | $75M | WCA Waste Corporation announced on 14 June 2006 that it had signed an agreement for a USD 75 million convertible preferred equity investment from Ares Corporate Opportunities Fund II, the second corporate private equity fund of Ares Management. The preferred stock was convertible into common shares at USD 9.60 per share and carried a 5% paid-in-kind dividend. The investment formed part of a capital plan that also refinanced WCA's senior secured debt; on a pro forma basis the company expected its debt-to-capitalisation ratio to fall from 66% to 40% and its equity to rise from USD 94 million to USD 167 million. Chairman Tom Fatjo said the company was excited to have Ares as a partner given the industry expertise of several of its executives. The issuance required stockholder approval and the completion of the debt refinancing. WCA Waste, based in Houston, was a vertically integrated non-hazardous solid waste company whose operations then comprised twenty landfills, transfer stations and collection businesses in the southern United States. Ares held the Series A preferred until December 2011, when WCA agreed to be acquired by Macquarie Infrastructure Partners II, which redeemed the preferred stock as part of a transaction valued at about USD 526 million. |
Who has invested in WCA Waste Corporation?
1 investor has backed WCA Waste Corporation across its funding rounds, including Ares Management.
WCA Waste Corporation Investors
| Investor | HQ | Rounds | Role | First check |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Benchmark 350K+ Funding Rounds and Disclosed VC Valuation Multiples
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Start Free TrialAcquisitions by WCA Waste Corporation
WCA Waste Corporation has acquired 21 companies to date.
Last acquisition by WCA Waste Corporation was on February 28th 2011. WCA Waste Corporation acquired Emerald Waste Services for undisclosed valuation.
Latest Acquisitions by WCA Waste Corporation
| Description | Emerald Waste Services is a Florida solid waste company whose Central Florida business operated one transfer station and three collection operations. Its operations ran 117 residential, commercial and roll-off routes serving about 113,500 customers in seven counties around Gainesville, Orange City and Daytona Beach. The business was held through EWS Holdings, LLC and entities including WRH Gainesville, WRH Orange City and EWS Central Florida Hauling. It earned collection service fees and transfer station tipping fees. WCA Waste Corporation bought the Central Florida operations in February 2011, and EWS Holdings became a holder of about 10% of WCA's common stock. | IESI OK Corporation is an Oklahoma solid waste company that operated nine commercial and residential collection routes around Chickasha, about 40 miles southwest of Oklahoma City. It also held a fully permitted transfer station in Chickasha that was not in operation, about 50 miles from WCA Waste Corporation's Pauls Valley Landfill. It was part of the IESI waste group until WCA Waste Corporation bought all of its outstanding stock effective January 1, 2011 for $1.875 million in cash. After the purchase it was renamed WCA of Chickasha and run as part of WCA's Oklahoma operations. The business earned recurring collection service fees from residential and commercial customers in and around Chickasha. | DINA Industries is a Texas waste collection company that operated in Houston. Organised as DINA Industries, Inc., it collected commercial and residential waste on routes and charged customers recurring service fees. It was privately owned until October 2010, when WCA Waste Corporation bought it as a tuck-in acquisition. WCA merged the routes into its Houston collection operations, which delivered waste to its Houston-area landfills, including the Fort Bend Regional Landfill. It was one of four tuck-ins WCA completed in 2010, three of them around Houston, which together added about $7 million of annualized revenue, and it ceased to operate under its own name after the sale. | Five JAB Environmental Services is a Texas waste collection company that operated in Houston. Organised as Five JAB Environmental Services, LLC, it collected commercial and residential waste on routes and charged customers recurring service fees. It was privately owned until September 2010, when WCA Waste Corporation acquired it. WCA folded the business into its Houston collection operations, which supplied waste to its Houston-area landfills, including the Fort Bend Regional Landfill. It was one of three Houston-area tuck-ins WCA completed in 2010, alongside Sprint Waste Services and DINA Industries, which with an Oklahoma deal added about $7 million of annualized revenue. | |
| HQ Country | |||||
| HQ City | Gainesville | Chickasha | Houston | Houston | |
| Deal Date | 28 Feb 2011 | 1 Jan 2011 | 1 Oct 2010 | 1 Sep 2010 | |
| Valuation | undisclosed | $2M | undisclosed | undisclosed | |
| EV/Revenue | |||||
| EV/EBITDA | |||||
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WCA Waste Corporation Competitors
WCA Waste Corporation competitors include listed companies like GVS, Takuma, Gravita India and VA Tech Wabag, and private ones like Aqualia and RoadRunner Recycling.
| Company | HQ | Status | Revenue | EBITDA | Valuation | Revenue Multiple |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Publicly listed | $476M | $91M | $1.2B | 3.0x | ||
| Publicly listed | $1B | $139M | $1.2B | 0.9x | ||
| Private | - | - | $1.2B | - | ||
| Publicly listed | $449M | $51M | $1.2B | 2.0x | ||
| Private | - | - | $1.1B | - | ||
| Publicly listed | $415M | $50M | $1.3B | 2.6x |
WCA Waste Corporation Public Comps
WCA Waste Corporation is no longer listed, but its public comps include GVS, Takuma, Gravita India, VA Tech Wabag, Jain Resource Recycling, Shanghai Environment Group, Daiseki, Derichebourg, Kanadevia and Metawater.
| Last FY | EV/Revenue | EV/EBITDA | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | EBITDA | Last FY | LTM | 2027E | Last FY | LTM | 2027E | |
| $476M | $91M | 3.1x | 3.0x | 16.1x | 11.5x | |||
| $1B | $139M | 1.0x | 0.9x | 7.2x | 8.2x | |||
| $449M | $51M | 2.6x | 2.0x | 23.1x | 20.7x | |||
| $415M | $50M | 2.9x | 2.6x | 24.1x | 20.2x | |||
| $1000M | $60M | 1.1x | 0.9x | 19.1x | 17.7x | |||
| $939M | $255M | 3.3x | 3.4x | 12.0x | 12.3x | |||
| $454M | $115M | 2.1x | 2.0x | 8.2x | 7.5x | |||
| $3.8B | $353M | 0.6x | 0.5x | 6.1x | 5.2x | |||
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Common questions about WCA Waste Corporation
| When was WCA Waste Corporation founded? | WCA Waste Corporation was founded in 2000. |
| Where is WCA Waste Corporation headquartered? | WCA Waste Corporation is headquartered in Houston, TX, United States. |
| Is WCA Waste Corporation publicly listed? | No, WCA Waste Corporation was acquired by GFL Environmental in August 2020. |
| Who acquired WCA Waste Corporation? | WCA Waste Corporation was acquired by GFL Environmental in August 2020. |
| How much was WCA Waste Corporation acquired for? | WCA Waste Corporation was acquired for $1.2B in August 2020, a 3.0x revenue multiple. |
| How much funding has WCA Waste Corporation raised? | WCA Waste Corporation has raised $75M across 1 funding round. |
| What was WCA Waste Corporation's last funding round? | WCA Waste Corporation's last funding round was a $75M undisclosed-stage round in June 2006. |
| Who are WCA Waste Corporation's investors? | WCA Waste Corporation's investors include Ares Management. |
| Which companies are comparable to WCA Waste Corporation? | Companies comparable to WCA Waste Corporation include GVS, Takuma, Aqualia, Gravita India, RoadRunner Recycling and VA Tech Wabag. |
| How many companies has WCA Waste Corporation acquired? | WCA Waste Corporation has acquired 21 companies, including Emerald Waste Services, IESI OK, DINA Industries, Five JAB Environmental Services and Washita Disposal. |
| What was the largest acquisition by WCA Waste Corporation? | The $39M acquisition of American Waste in February 2007 is the largest acquisition WCA Waste Corporation has made to date. |
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