Key Takeaways
- • GFL Environmental Inc. rejected a US$22-billion take-private offer from a consortium led by Blackstone Inc., KKR & Co. Inc. and Energy Capital Partners LLC at US$52 per share, ending a four-month strategic review without a sale, according to The Globe and Mail citing two sources.
- • The rejected bid represented a 13% premium to GFL's Monday share price of US$45.88 and valued the company at roughly 12 times forecasted 2027 earnings, below the 14-16 times average for sector leaders.
- • GFL's board pressed bidders for at least US$58 per share, a request the consortium reportedly refused.
- • GFL plans to allow BC Partners, which holds about 13% of the company, to sell a significant portion of its stake to outside investors.
- • Founder and CEO Patrick Dovigi, who had said he would retain a 33% stake under new owners, was reportedly unwilling to back a deal the board judged unfair to public shareholders.
Summary
GFL Environmental Inc. has rejected a US$22-billion buyout offer from a group of private equity firms, after its board concluded the proposal undervalued the waste-disposal company, according to The Globe and Mail. Late Monday, GFL directors ended a four-month strategic review by informing a consortium led by Blackstone Inc., KKR & Co. Inc. and Energy Capital Partners LLC that the board would not accept their US$52-per-share offer. The company was expected to announce on Tuesday that the review had concluded without a sale. The Globe and Mail cited two sources with knowledge of the process who were not authorized to speak publicly.
The spurned offer carried a 13% premium to GFL's share price on Monday, when the stock closed in New York at US$45.88. According to the sources, the board pressed the bidders for US$58 or more per share, and the consortium declined. The Globe and Mail reported that the offer valued GFL at roughly 12 times its forecasted 2027 earnings, below the 14 to 16 times average for the sector's leading public companies. Seventeen investment-bank analysts cover the stock, and 15 forecast a value above US$50 within a year, with price targets reaching up to US$64.
GFL launched the review in July after receiving unsolicited preliminary expressions of interest, as described by founder and chief executive Patrick Dovigi. Since the review was announced, the share price has risen more than 20%. Dovigi had previously said he would keep his 33% stake under new ownership, but sources said he was unwilling to support a transaction the board considered unfair to public shareholders. As part of ending the review, GFL plans to let BC Partners, a London-based shareholder with about 13%, sell a significant portion of its stake to outside investors.
The company's share price had fallen sharply earlier in the year after it launched a friendly C$5.4-billion takeover of Calgary-based Secure Waste Infrastructure Corp. Energy Capital, one of the spurned bidders, already holds a stake in Green Infrastructure Partners, which GFL partly spun out in August 2025 in a recapitalization valuing that entity at US$4.25 billion; GFL retains about 30% of it. The rejection comes as North America's waste disposal industry, dominated by GFL, Waste Management Inc., Republic Services Inc. and Waste Connections Inc., continues to consolidate.
The spurned offer carried a 13% premium to GFL's share price on Monday, when the stock closed in New York at US$45.88. According to the sources, the board pressed the bidders for US$58 or more per share, and the consortium declined. The Globe and Mail reported that the offer valued GFL at roughly 12 times its forecasted 2027 earnings, below the 14 to 16 times average for the sector's leading public companies. Seventeen investment-bank analysts cover the stock, and 15 forecast a value above US$50 within a year, with price targets reaching up to US$64.
GFL launched the review in July after receiving unsolicited preliminary expressions of interest, as described by founder and chief executive Patrick Dovigi. Since the review was announced, the share price has risen more than 20%. Dovigi had previously said he would keep his 33% stake under new ownership, but sources said he was unwilling to support a transaction the board considered unfair to public shareholders. As part of ending the review, GFL plans to let BC Partners, a London-based shareholder with about 13%, sell a significant portion of its stake to outside investors.
The company's share price had fallen sharply earlier in the year after it launched a friendly C$5.4-billion takeover of Calgary-based Secure Waste Infrastructure Corp. Energy Capital, one of the spurned bidders, already holds a stake in Green Infrastructure Partners, which GFL partly spun out in August 2025 in a recapitalization valuing that entity at US$4.25 billion; GFL retains about 30% of it. The rejection comes as North America's waste disposal industry, dominated by GFL, Waste Management Inc., Republic Services Inc. and Waste Connections Inc., continues to consolidate.
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