Dive Brief:

• WM has acquired New York-based Winters Bros. Waste Systems, a large regional waste and recycling company based on Long Island, effective July 15. The purchase price was $550 million, according to a subsequent filing.
• Winters Bros. employs more than 500 people and runs an estimated 275 trucks on Long Island and in parts of New York City to service a range of residential, commercial and industrial customers. The company also operates 12 transfer stations, including multiple rail-served sites, as well as a MRF and multiple recycling locations.
• “Our two companies have known and respected each other for many years, and the time is right for us to take the next logical step in our evolution allowing us accelerate the application of technology to enhance services on Long Island,” said CEO Sean Winters in a statement.

Dive Insight:

This transaction is a significant development for the New York market, which is dealing with the expected closure of a major landfill on Long Island as well as a reset to the competitive landscape via commercial waste zones in New York City. The deal also marks an expansion for WM, which did not previously have a notable presence on Long Island.

Winters Bros.’ history in the region dates back to the 1950s, though it has gone through multiple adaptations since then. The company sold to IESI in 2007 and then-CEO Joe Winters went on to acquire other assets in Connecticut that operated under the Winters Bros. name. Winters then bought all the Long Island assets of Progressive Waste Solutions (formerly IESI) in 2015, in partnership with private equity firm Clairvest, and later exited the Connecticut market. Joe Winters died in 2021 and the family continued growing the business since.

Winters Bros. has also grown through multiple tuck-in acquisitions of its own. According to Clairvest, it completed 11 deals since 2015 and grew earnings significantly in that time. Clairvest reported that its own proceeds from the sale to WM were $191 million.

“We are honored to have partnered with the Winters family over three separate partnerships spanning 18 years. The Winters family and their management team are exceptional — they are hardworking, high integrity leaders and partners, generous community members and astute, successful businesspeople who have generated tremendous financial results,” said Michael Castellarin, a managing director at Clairvest, in a statement.

Recent Winters acquisitions include the 2022 purchase of hauler and transfer station operator Emil Norsic and Son. That year, the company also purchased two rail-served transfer stations from WIN Waste Innovations in Lindenhurst and Farmingdale. This followed the company’s 2020 purchase of a Class 3 railroad company in the region.

Winters did not own disposal assets and had been increasingly focused on rail-based transfer in recent years due to the pending closure of the Brookhaven Landfill on Long Island.

That site is expected to stop accepting C&D by the end of this year, and close the doors to ash from incinerators (which are common on Long Island) soon after, prompting concerns about exporting waste from a geographically constrained area. Winters has proposed building a new rail transfer station near the landfill, but plans have yet to formally proceed. Sources indicate that Winters previously utilized some of WM’s disposal capacity.

“WM has an extensive presence across the United States and there are opportunities to internalize significant volumes of waste while ensuring environmentally sound solutions for customers on Long Island,” said Sean Winters in a statement.

The company touted the transaction as as a benefit to its local customers by “creating operating efficiencies and improving productivity,” while noting that “customer decisions will remain at the local level to ensure we remain responsive to customer and municipal concerns.”

Employees were informed today and the transition is expected to roll out in the coming weeks.

“This merger allows us to capitalize on the attractive business opportunities on Long Island and enhance our ability to provide comprehensive solutions to the waste-stream management needs of our customers,” said Executive Vice President Jimmy Winters in a statement.

In addition to now becoming the largest hauler on Long Island, the deal also provides WM a potential new angle in New York City.

The industry giant currently has a limited presence in that market after previously selling off certain hauling assets, but still maintains multiple transfer stations and an organics pre-processing facility. The city’s Department of Sanitation recently awarded 10-year contracts for haulers to operate across a range of non-exclusive zones, which will reshape local competition for decades once implemented. WM participated in the initial bidding process, but was not on the contract list and declined to say whether it submitted a final bid.

Winters also participated and was expected to be a designated carter for Recycle Track Systems, which received multiple zone contracts. The company is currently an approved trade waste hauler in the city. Service is set to begin in the system’s first zone (Queens Central) this fall, but DSNY has yet to share further implementation timing.

WM similarly confirmed the transaction on Monday.

“This acquisition will grow WM’s footprint and add complementary assets and operations, as well as a team with a shared focus on safety, outstanding service and operational excellence,” said a spokesperson via email.

The company is also in the process of acquiring Stericycle for approximately $7.2 billion, which could close later this year.