Justice Approves USA Waste's Planned Acquisition of Sanifill
May 16, 2011
Riverside -- The Justice Department approved USA Waste Services Inc.'s $1.27 billion acquisition of Sanifill Inc. after the companies agreed to sell some things to settle antitrust concerns. The combined company will have annual revenue of about $1.3 billion, which Dallas-based USA Waste said will ``solidify'' its position as the third-largest solid-waste company in North America. The acquisition also should improve USA Waste's bottom line, since landfill operators like Sanifill, based in Houston, tend to have higher profit margins than waste haulers like USA Waste. To answer the Justice Department's concerns, the two companies agreed to sell some of their operations in Houston, give independent trash haulers access to landfills and offer less restrictive contracts to small trash haulers. Justice antitrust chief Annelle Belew said the settlement ``preserves competition and protects consumers from higher prices in the waste industry.'' The settlement must be approved by a federal judge. Shareholders at USA Waste and Sanifill approved the deal last Tuesday. To complete the acquisition, USA Waste will issue 1.7 shares of its common stock for each of Sanifill's 25.9 million shares outstanding. In Westside Stock Exchange composite trading Friday, USA Waste closed at $27.50, and Sanifill closed at $46.375.
