Vertex Energy Inc. has sold its Heartland used motor oil collection and recycling business to a wholly owned subsidiary of GFL Environmental Inc. (GFL), for total cash consideration of US$90 million.
The transaction was completed pursuant to the entry into a sale and purchase agreement which closed at the time of signing.
Under the terms of the transaction, GFL acquired Vertex’s 20 million gal./yr Heartland used motor oil (UMO) refinery in Ohio, US, and the associated Heartland UMO collections business.
In a statement, Vertex Energy said that the transaction would facilitate continued improvement in the health of its balance sheet, support capital deployment into higher-return energy transition opportunities, and enhance strategic and operational focus on its core refining operations.
Vertex Energy said that the divestiture will significantly streamline its business, improving focus on conventional fuels refining operations and initial renewable diesel production operations at its facility in Mobile, Alabama, US.
The improved operational focus on its Mobile refining facility comes almost concurrently with anticipated mechanical completion and subsequent start-up of initial renewable diesel production, which is currently expected to be completed in 2Q23.
"We believe that the divestiture of our used motor oil business at Heartland, while a significant element of our company’s history and roots, will reflect another step forward in the greater transformation of our business into an energy transition story of scale. We expect that this transaction will serve us well by enabling the improvement of our balance sheet health, while adding strategic value through the streamlining of our operations. We remain highly focused on the execution of our conventional fuels refining strategy and the development of a large-scale, sustainable fuels production business longer-term. Make no mistake, we are committed to our remaining legacy business, coupled with our new investments in the Mobile refinery and the Gulf Coast, a key pathway to our greater energy transition strategy," said Benjamin P. Cowart, President and CEO of Vertex.