GPB Capital adds two NYC solid waste management companies to its portfolio

GPB Capital, a New York-based asset management firm that focuses on income-producing private equity, says it has acquired stakes in Joe Morea & Sons Private Sanitation Inc. and Staten Island Carting Inc., two waste management companies serving New York City communities. The firms will be merged into Five Star Carting Inc., a GPB Capital portfolio company, a move which is likely to facilitate significant synergies for GPB Capital’s waste management portfolio, the firm says.

“The acquisitions of these established, income-producing companies serve as a vital next step toward our goal to strengthen our presence in the New York City waste management sector and become a larger acquirer in this space,” says David Gentile, founder and CEO of GPB Capital. “We are eager to partner with the proven management teams at Joe Morea & Sons and Staten Island Carting to continue to enhance the waste management services we can provide to communities in New York City and beyond.”

Joe Morea & Sons, founded in 1982, provides municipal solid waste and cardboard hauling services to residents of Brooklyn, New York, and surrounding areas. The company is expected to generate savings for Five Star Carting via the consolidation of workers’ compensation insurance and fleet insurance, as well as route synergies throughout much of Brooklyn, GPB Capital says.

Joe Morea & Sons also will likely divert nearly 1,000 tons of municipal solid waste per month to Citygreen Organics, another GPB Capital portfolio company.

Terms of the acquisition of Joe Morea & Sons, which closed June 13, 2017, were not disclosed.

Staten Island Carting is a hauling company that currently operates five trucks that process approximately 815 tons of municipal solid waste and 165 tons of recycling per month in Staten Island, New York. An investment from GPB Capital will enable Staten Island Carting to transition to front-end loading trucks, which will reduce operational costs and the number of workers required per truck, GPB Capital says. This vehicle upgrade, along with route consolidation and savings on workers’ compensation insurance and fleet insurance, is expected to cut costs and increase cash flow over the long term.

The acquisition was finalized on June 20, 2017, and terms were not disclosed.

“We are always looking for opportunities to grow our waste management market share in New York and other states by purchasing majority ownership in companies that meet our stringent acquisition requirements and can partner with us to achieve further growth and profitability,” says Richard Serio, managing partner with GPB Capital. “The synergies we expect these tuck-in acquisitions to generate are important for helping us expand the resources available to support the employees, customers and neighborhoods served by our waste management portfolio.”

GPB Capital says it focuses on buying mature, income-producing companies in necessity-based sectors, including waste management, through straightforward M&A deals and special situations. The firm acquired Five Star Carting earlier this year.