Liberty Tire Recycling Bolsters Finances with Restructuring

Liberty Tire Recycling Holdco LLC has completed its financial restructuring, which reduced its outstanding debt securities by $50 million and significantly cut its annual cash interest expense.

The Pittsburgh-based company now has access to additional capital, according to a news release.

The financial restructuring came about because nearly 100-percent of Liberty’s existing bondholders agreed to exchange their unsecured notes for $175 million of 11-percent second lien notes and equity in the company.

With its new capital structure, Liberty said it now has a strong balance sheet and the flexibility to continue to make significant capital investments and to take advantage of new market opportunities.

Liberty now has access to additional capital through loans provided by funds and accounts managed by Third Avenue Management LLC, Redwood Capital Management LLC and Knighthead Capital Management LLC, among others. 

 "With our restructuring completed, we now have the foundation in place for Liberty to achieve strong and steady growth," said Bill Fry, company president and CEO. "We appreciate the service of our previous board of directors, and look forward to great things with our new equity holders and new board of directors." 

The restructuring announcement comes a day after another major recycling firm, Schnitzer Steel Industries Inc., disclosed that it had merged its metal recycling and auto parts businesses and launched a cost reduction program. That occurred after the Portland, Ore.-based Schnitzer reported a net loss of $196 million for its second fiscal period, with the recycling business losing $187 million for the quarter.

Last year the industry’s largest firm, Houston-based Waste Management Inc., restructured its operations to better achieve its strategic goals, and it included 650 employees taking a voluntary separation package.

Liberty calls itself the premier tire recycler in North America, recycling more than 141 million tires annually and making them into new products. The company has launched several partnerships in the past two years, including Hertz Corp. and NASCAR for tire recycling in car rentals and racing, respectively, and with specialty materials firm Lehigh Technologies Inc. for a rubberized asphalt system.