Environmental, energy and industrial services firm, Clean Harbors Inc last Monday announced that it has acquired Evergreen Oil, Inc. out of bankruptcy through the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California. Evergreen Oil is a California-based environmental services company that is one of the state’s largest collectors of waste oil and runs the only re-refinery in the state. Clean Harbors is funding the $60 million transaction through available cash on its balance sheet.

According to Clean Harbors, the acquisition of Evergreen Oil is beneficial to Clean Harbors on a number of fronts:

- expands Clean Harbors’ geographic footprint in re-refining to include coverage in the Western U.S. – complementing its Indiana facility in the Midwest and Breslau facility in Eastern Canada;
- provides Clean Harbors with the second-largest collector of waste oil in California; and
- provides Clean Harbors with a number of valuable ancillary waste assets, including a permitted Treatment, Storage and Disposal Facility (TSDF).

“Our acquisition of Evergreen aligns well with our Safety-Kleen re-refinery and environmental businesses, and creates multiple opportunities for profitable growth,” said Alan S. McKim, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “California is an attractive market for us, and Evergreen has a strong presence in the state. Given the financial incentives available in California and that used oil is designated as hazardous, the addition of Evergreen will contribute to Safety-Kleen’s ongoing initiative to lower its pay-for-oil (PFO) costs.”

“We believe that we are purchasing this asset at a favorable price for our shareholders,” McKim said. “While we plan to invest some capital into the re-refinery to enhance its layout and productivity, the plant is relatively new, with major portions of it having been rebuilt following a fire at the facility in 2011. In addition to the re-refinery, the purchase includes rolling stock and equipment, a diverse roster of West Coast customer accounts, an ancillary hazardous waste business and a TSDF in Carson, California – a state where stringent permitting requirements create barriers to entry.”

“We are excited about the overall potential for the Evergreen assets. Given our acquisition expertise and track record, we are confident that our integration teams can realize substantial upside potential from our combined company. We look forward to welcoming Evergreen’s employees into the Clean Harbors and Safety-Kleen family,” McKim concluded.

Headquartered in Massachusetts, Clean Harbors serves a diverse customer base, including a majority of the Fortune 500 companies, thousands of smaller private entities and numerous federal, state, provincial and local governmental agencies. Through its Safety-Kleen subsidiary, Clean Harbors also is a premier provider of used oil recycling and re-refining, parts washers and environmental services for the small quantity generator market. Clean Harbors has waste disposal facilities and service locations throughout the United States and Canada, as well as Mexico and Puerto Rico.