GFL sets November 9 deadline for updated takeover bids as it raises 2026 outlook
Key Facts
GFL Environmental set November 9, 2026, as the deadline for interested parties to submit updated bids to acquire the company, the latest step in a review of unsolicited proposals to take it private. The company said in a filing that a special committee of independent directors is reviewing the proposals and will determine next steps after the deadline. A press report, cited by Seeking Alpha from CTFN, said a sovereign wealth fund joined the bidding process a few weeks ago, but GFL did not confirm the information in its filing. The fund's identity and the original report could not be verified, so its participation remains an assertion attributed to that report. In its October 28 filing, the company combined the procedural deadline with its third-quarter results and an increase to its annual forecasts.
The deadline follows earlier reports of competing groups pursuing the company. Bloomberg reported in September that KKR, Energy Capital Partners and Blackstone had formed one group, while Brookfield Asset Management and IFM Investors teamed up on a rival bid. Chief Executive Patrick Dovigi said in September that he was open to considering offers that would take the company private at a valuation above its share price, while noting that no decision had been made at the time. After the reports of the two groups, GFL shares in Toronto rose as much as 8.4% to 62.29 Canadian dollars on September 17. The latest filing sets a deadline for bids and leaves it to the special committee to decide what to do next.
On performance, third-quarter revenue was 2,155.3 million dollars, up 27.2% from the same period a year earlier, including a 5.7% contribution from core pricing. The company said organic revenue grew 7.4%, accelerating by 100 basis points from the second quarter. Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization were 678.7 million dollars, compared with 535.1 million a year earlier, an increase of 26.8%. Dovigi said the company delivered 7.4% organic revenue growth and expanded its core adjusted earnings margin by more than 115 basis points, excluding the effects of mergers and acquisitions and diesel prices. These indicators provide an operating backdrop as the committee reviews the bids, while any sale remains subject to its deliberations.
GFL raised its fiscal 2026 revenue forecast to a range of 8,055 to 8,075 million dollars, compared with its previous guidance of 7,510 to 7,530 million dollars. It also raised its adjusted free cash flow forecast for the year to about 1,020 million dollars, from about 900 million previously. The company said acquisitions completed since the start of the year generate about 2 billion dollars in annual revenue and that the new guidance represents the third increase this year. The forecast includes contributions from acquisitions completed through October 1 and assumes a U.S. dollar-to-Canadian dollar exchange rate of 1.40 for the rest of the year. The company is also targeting an improvement in adjusted free cash flow conversion toward the middle of the 40% range.
But growth in revenue and adjusted earnings did not prevent continuing operations from posting a net loss of 28.0 million dollars in the third quarter, compared with net income of 90.4 million dollars in the same period of 2025. Adjusted free cash flow, by contrast, rose to 272.5 million dollars from 180.5 million a year earlier. The company reported these figures in results that showed growth in revenue and adjusted earnings, alongside a clear divergence between those measures and the net result from continuing operations. GFL is scheduled to hold a call to discuss its third-quarter results on October 29, 2026, at 8:30 a.m. Eastern time. After that, the next deadline in the bid review is November 9, when the period for submitting updated proposals ends.