WM Delays Acquisition of Advanced Disposal Until Q2 2020

The outbreak of COVID-19 has had a major impact on businesses across the globe, and in the waste and recycling industry, it has delayed one of the most anticipated mergers—the Waste Management (WM)-Advanced Disposal Services (ADS) deal.

On March 18, Waste Management filed a notice with the Securities and Exchange Commission, projecting federal regulatory approval in Q2 opposed to Q1. This news comes shortly after Waste Management reported its 2019 year-end earnings and 2020 outlook, which revealed the meger was still on track to close in March.

On an earnings call with investors last month, Waste Management CEO Jim Fish stated, “We are excited as we near the close of the transaction, and we have great confidence in the potential of the combined organization. We anticipate that we will obtain antitrust regulatory approval by the end of March and close soon thereafter.”

“Our integration team has been working hard preparing for this close, and the team is positioned to move quickly to integrate ADS operations and to achieve our targeted synergies,” he added.

Waste Management will hold its Q1 2020 earnings call in the coming weeks and may shed more light on this acquisition during that time.