Lariat Partners has sold Ecoserv Industrial Disposal (IDF), a wholly owned subsidiary of Ecoserv, to publicly traded US Ecology for $87.2million.
Lariat formed Ecoserv in March 2014 through the merger of Houston-based Newpark Environmental Services, a provider of offshore waste disposal services, with Offshore Cleaning Systems, a provider of offshore cleaning services. Ecoserv is headquartered near Baton Rouge in Abbeville, LA (www.ecoserv.net).
Under Lariat’s ownership, Ecoserv focused on decentralizing its business into smaller more specialized units and then empowered the divisional management teams to invest in growing their individual business units. The IDF division experienced tremendous growth and success under this approach.
Ecoserv Industrial Disposal (IDF) is a provider of non-hazardous industrial wastewater (NIW) disposal services. Utilizing deep-well injection technology, the company operates several of the only commercial caprock injection wells fully permitted for difficult to treat Class 1 and 2 NIW streams, including solids, sludges, high metals, flammable exempt, leachate, and ammonia. The company, headquartered in n Winnie, TX, is strategically located near key markets such as Houston and Beaumont, TX and Lake Charles, LA, and can provide disposal services to petrochemical, refinery, chemical, industrial, and environmental services customers. Click HERE for the IDF webpage.
We are very pleased to complete this successful transaction and we would like to thank Yvonne Hudspeth, IDF’s divisional manager,” said Kevin Mitchell, co-founder and managing partner of Lariat. “Under Yvonne’s leadership, IDF became a leading NIW disposal solutions provider in the Gulf Coast region. This transaction enables Ecoserv to focus on both its core environmental cleaning and waste disposal services business as well as its Ecorobotics technology.”
Lariat invests in lower middle market companies that have EBITDA of $2 million to $20 million. The firm targets companies across a number of industries including consumer products, energy and environmental services, food and agribusiness, healthcare services, marine services, safety products and services, and specialty distribution. The firm was founded in January 2013 and is based in Denver (www.lariatpartners.net).
US Ecology (NASDAQ-GS: ECOL), the buyer of the IDF division, is a provider of environmental services to commercial and government entities. The company’s services include the treatment, disposal and recycling of hazardous, non-hazardous and radioactive waste, as well as a wide range of complementary field and industrial services. US Ecology was founded in 1952 and is headquartered in Boise (www.usecology.com).
US Ecology expects the operations of IDF to contribute approximately $9 million to $10 million of adjusted EBITDA in 2019. “This acquisition adds unique, high volume industrial liquids disposal capabilities, complements other investments we’ve made in the region, and strengthens our comprehensive environmental services offerings,” said Jeff Feeler, US Ecology’s chairman, president and chief executive officer. “The facility, permitted for a wide variety of non-hazardous industrial waste including solids, sludges, leachate, and ammonia, offers a lower cost alternative to traditional wastewater treatment.”
Brown Gibbons Lang & Company (www.bglco.com) was the financial advisor to Lariat and Ecoserv on this transaction.
© 2018 Private Equity Professional | December 18, 2018
