Meridian Waste Buys Two Haulers, Secures Funding

Meridian Waste Solutions Inc. has purchased two waste companies and secured $55 million in funding in part to pay for the deals.

Meridian, a Milton, Ga.-based waste company, acquired Christian Disposal LLC, which does business as Christian Environmental Services and is based in Winfield, Mo. The deal includes Christian's subsidiary, FWCD LLC.

Christian Disposal is one of Missouri’s largest integrated solid waste management companies, which provides solid waste collection, transfer, disposal and recycling services, according to a news release.

The second purchase was by the company’s wholly owned subsidiary, Meridian Land Co. LLC, of certain assets of Eagle Ridge Landfill LLC. It includes hauling operations and a municipal solid waste landfill in Bowling Green, Mo.

Meridian Waste secured from Goldman Sachs Specialty Lending Group L.P. a $55 million credit facility, with $40 million of the total funded at closing.

Both the financing and the acquisitions allow Meridian Waste to become a fully integrated waste management operation with major hauling assets, transfer stations and a MSW landfill in the St. Louis marketplace, the company said.

Acquisitions have continued briskly in December. Peoria Disposal Co. (PDC) moved into recycling processing with the acquisition of Midland Davis Corp.’s Pekin recycling division and facility. Peoria, Ill.-based PDC’s affiliate Area Recycling Inc. (ARI) purchased the recycling operation in Pekin, Ill.

Waste Management Inc. received antitrust clearance from the Justice Department to acquire Southern Waste Systems. The Houston-based Waste Management expects to close the transaction by the year’s end.

Advanced Disposal made three waste hauler acquisitions at the beginning of the month. It bought Fort Wayne, Ind.-based Earth First LLC; Webb Waste Inc. of Macon, Ga.; and Ball Ground, Ga.-based AC Sanitation, Inc.