Midwest hauler LRS has sold its Wisconsin assets to GFL Environmental, exiting the state in an effort to focus on organic growth in other core markets.
The sale includes all of LRS’ assets in Wisconsin, including collection and transfer assets in the central and southern parts of the state and a single-stream sorting facility in DeForest. LRS will also exit a C&D MRF operating agreement with Dane County in Madison, said CEO Matt Spencer. The company lists a presence in Appleton, Mauston, Milton, Monona and DeForest.
LRS also sold a “small hauling business and a C&D transfer station” in Bloomington, Illinois, as part of the deal, Spencer said.
The sale helps densify GFL’s footprint in Wisconsin, where it already has a large presence. GFL lists hauling operations in 18 locations, as well as two landfills, two MRFs and 16 transfer stations in the state. It also has an active presence in Illinois, with numerous hauling operations, landfills and transfer stations.
GFL did not respond to a request for comment about the deal. GFL has said it plans to ramp up M&A this year following close of the sale of its environmental services business, and this is the first known transaction since the deal.
The businesses “demonstrated a good return profile with absolutely outstanding people working in them. However we were not positioned in the market for long-term growth,” Spencer said.
LRS, a vertically integrated company backed by Macquarie, continues to have a major presence in the Chicago area, and also operates in Michigan, Minnesota, Kansas, Iowa and Arkansas.
The company is also “exploring new markets where the characteristics align with our long-term growth strategy,” he said.
In the last few years, LRS had logged several acquisitions in Wisconsin, including Badgerland Disposal in 2017, Royal Container Service in 2018 and Landfill Reduction and Recycling, the C&D operation in Dane County, in 2020.
In 2020, LRS made a play to acquire some Wisconsin divestitures from Waste Management’s acquisition of Advanced Disposal Services, which included numerous landfills and transfer stations in the state. Analysts had seen Wisconsin as a major growth opportunity for LRS, but GFL was selected as the buyer for a multi-state divestiture package.
However, LRS later acquired numerous Illinois and Minnesota-based collection, transfer and disposal assets from GFL that were part of that divestiture process.
LRS has undergone a series of changes in the last year as it continues to integrate several acquisitions and adjust its operational priorities. Spencer took the helm as CEO in 2023, and the company underwent a corporate restructuring and a series of layoffs while also making changes to its C-suite in 2024.
