Toronto-based waste firm GFL plans $1-billion IPO: sources

Private equity-backed waste management company GFL Environmental Inc. is seeking to raise as much as $1 billion in an initial public offering that could be filed as early as the first quarter, people familiar with the situation told Reuters on Wednesday.

The company, whose Green for Life slogan is seen across major Canadian cities, is interviewing Canadian and international investment banks to pick underwriters, the people said, declining to be named discussing the confidential matter.

A $1-billion IPO would be the biggest Canadian listing since Kinder Morgan Canada raised $1.7 billion early this year, and would value GFL at nearly $5 billion, the people said.

The IPO would provide an exit for investors including U.S. private equity firm HPS Investment Partners LLC and Macquarie Infrastructure Partners III, a fund linked to a unit of Australian financial services firm Macquarie Group.

While an IPO is a way to unlock value, no decision has been made to proceed with an offering, GFL General Counsel Joy Grahek said.

HPS and Macquarie declined to comment.

GFL has been working closely with Bank of Montreal and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, which are likely to play a big role in the IPO, the people said. The company raised US$350 billion in a bond offering in May.

Led by chief executive Patrick Dovigi, GFL has grown through acquisitions into one of Canada’s biggest waste management companies. GFL, whose flashy green trucks are seen in every province except Prince Edward Island, has about 140 facilities across Canada and in Michigan. It is a major provider of soil recycling services in Ontario.

“GFL has been running a process over the last couple of months to appoint banks for an IPO,” said an investment banker.