Dive Brief:

• Waste Connections has announced its acquisition of Illinois-based Groot Industries, Inc. for an undisclosed amount.
• Groot says it is the largest privately-owned solid waste services company in Illinois with approximately 300,000 customers and $200 million in annual revenue. The company was founded in 1914 and continues to be family operated.
• The company mainly operates in northern Illinois with six collection operations, six transfer stations and two recycling facilities. Groot's core leadership will stay on and the company will continue to use its own name within local markets.

Dive Insight:

This acquisition is seen as a way to complement Waste Connections' purchase of Rock River Environmental Services in 2015. The company also operated in northern Illinois with an annual revenue of approximately $75 million. According to a statement from Groot executives Ryan Brandsma and John Groot, they had been looking to acquire Rock River at the time for the same reasons that Waste Connections decided to consolidate both operations.

"Groot is one of the most respected and best in class companies in our industry," said Waste Connections CEO Ronald J. Mittelstaedt in a statement. "Groot solidifies our leading position in these markets, increases potential internalization benefits of their disposal volumes into our existing landfills, and further expands our platform for additional growth opportunities."

Since completing its acquisition of Progressive Waste Solutions in June 2016, Waste Connections has become one of the largest waste management companies in North America. According to its most recent quarterly results from 2016, Waste Connections reported better than expected earnings due in part to the Progressive deal.