Advanced Disposal Files to Go Public

Advanced Disposal and its parent firm, ADS Waste Holdings Inc., is going public, as it has filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for an initial public offering (IPO) of common stock.

(This article has been updated from its original with additional information.)

Ponte Vedra, Fla.-based Advanced said in a news release that the company hasn’t determined the number of shares to be offered or the price range. Mary O’Brien, chief marketing officer for Advanced Disposal, said in an e-mail that the company could not comment further on the offering.

Renaissance Capital said on its website that the IPO could raise up to $100 million.

In its filing with the SEC, ADS said it intends to use the proceeds from the sale of common stock to repay debt.

ADS Waste said that it will apply for the stock ticker “ADSW” which would indicate that NASDAQ stock exchange.

The company said the registration statement hasn’t become effective so no offers can be accepted yet.

Moody's Investors Service characterized the move as a partial IPO, with Highstar Capital remaining the majority shareholder. Moody's said its intention to pay down debt with the proceeds "could favorably impact the company's credit profile but does not impact the company's ratings at this time."

The offering will be made only through a prospectus. Deutsche Bank Securities, Credit Suisse and Barclays are acting as lead book-running managers in the proposed offering. Additional book-running managers are BofA Merrill Lynch, Macquarie Capital, Morgan Stanley and UBS Investment Bank. Wells Fargo Securities and First Analysis Securities Corp. are acting as co-managers in the proposed offering.

In an exclusive interview with Waste360 last September, CEO Richard Burke was asked about the prospect of Advanced Disposal going public. He said it was a decision for the board more than the management team. “We’re owned by equity, so at some point they’ll want to exit the investment. But right now the management team is focused on value creation; those guys (the board) will decide whether we stay private a long time or go public.”

ADS Waste recorded a net loss of $8.5 million for its second quarter, compared with a net loss a year ago of $15.4 million. Revenue for the company slipped 1.3 percent to $355.2 million.

Investment firm Stifel, Nicolaus & Co. Inc. said the results "need to be viewed through a prism and focus on the good and be cautious about the negative." Core price was good, but volumes dipped.

Advanced Disposal announced three hauler acquisitions in June, bringing the total to seven for the year.