Waste Connections to buy R360 Environmental

   Waste Connections Inc. (The Woodlands, TX) is taking a big step outside its core business of municipal solid waste (MSW) collection and disposal and into oil field waste management through the acquisition of R360 Environmental Solutions Inc. (Houston, TX), operator of 26 waste treatment and recycling facilities in Louisiana, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Texas, and Wyoming. The all-cash deal is expected to close during the fourth quarter of 2012 and will add about $300 million to Waste Connections’ annual revenue. “Through acquisitions and new facility development, R360 has created leading positions in key basins, providing closed-loop oil-field waste services within an increasingly stringent regulatory environment,” said Waste Connections CEO Ronald Mittelstaedt in a statement.   “While a tepid economy has impacted MSW volumes, increased drilling activity in unconventional areas is fueling impressive organic growth within the E&P (exploration and production) waste sector,” Mittelstaedt continued. “R360 is actively permitting several new sites to further expand its operations in this growing industry.” He added, “once closed, this acquisition is expected to be more than 400 basis points accretive to our consolidated EBITDA margin, given the higher-margin, disposal-oriented profile of R360’s activities.”