Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody announced last week that she is taking action to resolve anticompetitive concerns raised by the proposed multibillion-dollar merger between Waste Management, Inc. and Advanced Disposal Services Inc.—two of the largest providers of waste disposal and collection services in Florida and throughout the United States.
Moody is joined by the U.S. Department of Justice and four other states in the agreement.
“I am proud to join the U.S. Department of Justice and our state partners in taking action to protect Florida businesses in this multibillion-dollar merger that could have left them paying high rates with fewer alternative waste collection options. Through this multi-agency action, we will preserve competition in our state in the waste collection and disposal market,” Moody said on Friday.
The agreement—which resolves an extensive review of the proposed merger—requires Waste Management and Advanced Disposal Services to divest key assets across several Florida markets to GFL Environmental, an environmental services company operating throughout North America. The divestiture preserves competition in Florida, introduces GFL as a new competitor to the state and establishes a foothold for GFL to compete across multiple Florida markets.
U.S. DOJ, along with Florida, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Minnesota and Illinois, filed a civil lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia challenging the proposed transaction. The complaint alleges that the merger would substantially decrease competition in multiple waste collection and disposal markets throughout the U.S., including in several Florida markets. The proposed final judgment, if approved by the court, will resolve the anticompetitive concerns and the lawsuit.
In Florida, under the proposed final judgment once approved, the parties will be required to divest certain commercial hauling routes in five counties: Clay, Citrus, Duval, Marion and St. Johns. Additionally, ADS must divest hauling sites in Duval County and Marion County, along with its transfer station in Marion County.
Author
