Date: August 3, 2012
Source: Casella Waste Systems, Inc.
Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (Rutland, VT) has agreed to sell its unpopular Maine Energy Recovery facility ("MERC") facility to the host city of Biddeford. At a special meeting on July 31, the city's council voted in favor of a purchase and sale agreement with Casella in which the city will pay the company $6.65 million over 20 years while also entering into a 10-year waste collection and recycling contract with them. A condition of the sale is that Casella receive a final permit modification at its Juniper Ridge Landfill in Old Town, Maine which would allow the landfill to accept municipal solid waste (MSW) directly rather than only as a bypass stream from waste-to-energy facilities. Company CEO and Chairman John W. Casella said the contract is a "win-win" for the company and the city which has been trying to shut down the 25-year-old facility for the last 10 years. He indicated that low energy prices made the facility unprofitable and that a better solution involved waste reduction and recycling rather than conversion to energy.
PRESS RELEASE
August 3, 2012
Casella Waste Systems Announces That It Has Signed a Purchase and Sale Agreement to Sell Its Maine Energy Recovery Facility to the City of Biddeford, Maine
Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CWST), a regional vertically-integrated solid waste, recycling and resource management services company, announced today that it signed a purchase and sale agreement to sell its Maine Energy Recovery facility ("MERC") to the City of Biddeford, ME ("Biddeford").
At a special meeting on Tuesday, July 31, 2012 Biddeford's nine-member council voted to enter into the purchase and sale agreement for MERC, and the agreement was subsequently executed by the company and Biddeford on Wednesday, August 1, 2012. As per the purchase and sale agreement, Biddeford will pay the company total consideration of $6.65 million over 20 years, enter into a new 10 year waste handling agreement, and enter into a new 10 year recycling collection agreement.
The sale of the facility is set to close by November 15, 2012, with the closing contingent upon certain conditions precedent for the buyer and the seller. These conditions precedent include the company successfully receiving a final permit modification at the Juniper Ridge Landfill in Old Town, ME to accept municipal solid waste (MSW). Currently, Juniper Ridge Landfill may only accept MSW as a by-pass stream from waste-to-energy facilities.
"With the signing of this purchase and sale agreement I believe that we have reached a win-win outcome for both the company and the City of Biddeford," said John W. Casella, chairman and CEO of Casella Waste Systems. "Biddeford had approached us several times over the past ten years to find a solution to shut down the 25-year old waste-to-energy facility to redevelop their downtown area. Given current low energy prices and our belief that a successful resource management strategy combines waste reduction, an effective recycling solution and waste disposal in a low-emission landfill, we have structured a transaction that is favorable for our shareholders, while helping the community to meet its long-term solid waste objectives through 10 year waste handling and Zero-Sort® Recycling contracts."
About Casella Waste Systems, Inc.
Casella Waste Systems, Inc., headquartered in Rutland, Vermont, provides solid waste management services consisting of collection, transfer, disposal, and recycling services in the northeastern United States. For further information, investors should contact Ned Coletta, vice president of finance and investor relations at (802) 772-2239, and media should contact Joseph Fusco, vice president at (802) 772-2247, or visit the company's website at www.casella.com.
Contact Information
Investors:
Ned Coletta
Vice President of Finance and Investor Relations
(802) 772-2239
Media:
Joseph Fusco
Vice President
(802) 772-2247
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