GW Equity, a Dallas-based adviser to privately held middle-market clients for mergers, acquisitions, divestitures and strategic growth, has sold a majority stake in its client EIL Environm
GW Equity, a Dallas-based adviser to privately held middle-market clients for mergers, acquisitions, divestitures and strategic growth, has sold a majority stake in its client EIL Environmental Services of Edmonton, Alberta, to Turtle Island Recycling.
Founded in 1991, EIL Environmental is an environmental services company that specialises in the transportation, disposal and recycling of hazardous waste materials. Financing came from Whitecastle Private Equity Partners, a Toronto-based private equity firm, as well as Turtle Island shareholders.
‘EIL Environmental’s management will remain significant shareholders and continue to run its operations following the transaction, so finding the right buyer was crucial,’ says Stephen Crisham, the GW Equity managing director who led the transaction. ‘Turtle Island Recycling demonstrated an understanding of the environmental services industry and was active in a related sector of the recycling and waste collection industry.’
Gary Michalchuk, president of EIL Environmental, says: ‘Turtle Island Recycling will provide strategic synergies and through both Whitecastle and its other shareholders will provide the capital for necessary competitive growth.’
After testing the market with selected local industry players, EIL Environmental Services decided to retain GW Equity in November 2006. GW Equity marketed the company to strategic buyers and private equity groups in the US and Canada, resulting in several offers.
EIL’s state-of-the-art facilities, vehicles and equipment enable the handling of materials such as oil, glycol, paint, chlorinated and non-chlorinated solvents, polychlorinated biphenyl and other hazardous waste.
EIL is headquartered in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, and maintains its waste storage and distillation facilities in nearby Onoway. The company serves customers throughout northern Alberta and Saskatchewan, including petrochemical companies, paving contractors, government entities as well as the oil and gas industry.
Turtle Island Recycling is one of the largest recycling and waste management companies in Canada. It operates a fleet of more than 130 collection vehicles, employs more than 250 people and services more than 2,000 commercial customers and 200,000 residential homes. Its main processing facility is in Toronto, and it has additional bases in Aurora and Leamington, Ontario.
Whitecastle Private Equity Partners Fund is a Toronto-based investment fund focused on providing capital and expertise for growth and buyouts in small and medium-sized enterprises. It targets opportunities in sectors including food services, recycling and waste management, technology, healthcare, financial services and manufacturing.
GW Equity assists privately held middle-market clients in completing mergers, acquisitions, divestitures and strategic growth initiatives. It has more than 300 professional advisers at its headquarters in Dallas and offices in New York, Chicago and Irvine, California.
