Dive Brief:
- Asset manager Apollo acquired a majority stake in Pittsburgh-based Noble Environmental. Noble owns several landfills in Pennsylvania and Ohio, and in recent years has worked to enhance its landfill gas facility portfolio.
- This the second major move Apollo has made in recent years into the waste space. It previously joined BC Partners in a deal to acquire a stake in GFL's Environmental services business last year.
- This follows the Delaware Chancery Court’s recent approval of a $55.3 million settlement in a case related to Noble's founders and their second venture, Archaea Energy. Attorneys described this as a prerequisite for closing the transaction in an April 30 legal filing.
Dive Insight:
Over the last decade, Noble has become one of the largest private haulers in Pennsylvania, in part through acquisitions.
Founded in western Pennsylvania in 2016, the company grew to a portfolio of eight Pennsylvania landfills by buying assets from GFL Environmental that it acquired via divestitures from the 2020 WM-Advanced Disposal Services transaction. Noble also owns the Penn Ohio Landfill, a C&D facility in Negley, Ohio.
A recent press release from the company says its workforce includes more than 400 employees, and federal data shows the company has nearly 100 trucks. In addition to its landfills, the company has transfer stations in Pennsylvania, Ohio and Maryland, per the release.
“Since inception, Noble Environmental’s goal has been to build a leading waste management business that delivers for the communities we serve while creating lasting value through disciplined operations and strategic growth,” David Florance, Noble’s president and chief operating officer, said in a statement. “Apollo shares that vision, and their experience and resources will be invaluable as we continue to execute on our vision to grow the business.”
In 2024, minority investor Michael Schatzow sued the founders of Noble Environmental, alleging top executives used the company to personally enrich themselves. He alleged they used personnel and trade secrets from Noble to fuel the rise of their second company Archaea Energy, which was eventually sold to BP in 2022. Among other allegations, Schatzow said Noble shareholders should have received a larger payout from BP’s $4.1 billion acquisition of Archaea through shares Noble held in the latter company.
While certain aspects of legal filings were redacted for confidentiality, the court docket shows ongoing back and forth over the settlement and proposed Apollo transaction. Attorneys representing a special litigation committee of the company’s board of directors said rejecting the settlement would “doom” the proposed deal. They noted that 60% of shareholders unaffiliated with any defendant in the case supported the transaction, though said the plaintiffs did not.
As negotiations related to that lawsuit continued, Noble began working on adding renewable natural gas capabilities to its landfill portfolio. The company closed a $100 million bond financing round in Pennsylvania in September to finance a series of projects, including new landfill-gas-to-RNG facilities. In December, Noble announced the sale of $34.8 million in Investment Tax Credits tied to three of its newly operating RNG facilities.
Noble is also pursuing a rail connection to the Greentree Landfill, though those plans remain the subject of scrutiny at the local and federal level.
Financial terms of the Apollo transaction were not disclosed. In a release, Apollo praised Noble's portfolio of "long-life hard assets that provide essential services to the communities served by Noble Environmental."
“Noble Environmental has built a differentiated platform in one of the most attractive waste markets in the country. The combination of scarce, permitted landfill assets, a fully integrated service offering and a growing RNG business creates a compelling foundation for long-term value creation,” Apollo partners Scott Browning and Brad Fierstein said in a joint statement.
