Case Studies

Operational Advisory Leads to Going-Concern Sale of Wastewater Treatment Facilities

J.S. Held Acquires Clark Seif Clark, Strengthening West Coast Capabilities for Environmental Claims, Disputes, and Catastrophe Response

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Home·Operational Advisory Leads to Going-Concern Sale of Wastewater Treatment Facilities

The Situation

3 Wastewater Treatment facilities. $25 million in Revenue. $10 million Secured Debt. Environmental and Liquidity Issues. Ohio State Court Receivership.

  • A wastewater treatment company that removes impact oil and other material from water through other treatment methods.
  • Reclaimed oil sales, a byproduct of the treatment process, were affected by falling oil prices.
  • Numerous potential environmental issues and regulatory violations need immediate attention.
  • The lack of liquidity and concerns by the secured lender led the company to enter into a state receivership proceeding.
  • Customers were exiting because of the receivership.
  • Critical safety equipment and environmental barriers were failing.

The Situation

Our experts stabilized the company through cost-cutting measures, the elimination of oil operations, and targeted sales efforts.

  • Stabilized exit of customers and maintained consistent revenue through the entire 2 years of receivership.
  • Negotiated and resolved all active violations and implemented corrective actions for environmental regulators, including the EPA, RCRA, and local agencies.
  • Replaced environmental equipment deficiencies and implemented capital improvements to correct failing critical safety equipment.
  • Conducted a sales process and brought three potential strategic buyers to the secured lender.
  • Secured lender purchased the company with a credit bid.
  • The company was sold with no outstanding environmental violations.
  • Avoided potential costly environmental remediation and facility shutdown risk for the buyer/lender.

Key Contact

Mark J. Welch, CPA, CTP 
Senior Managing Director 
Strategic Advisory Practice 
+1 412 498 8258 
[email protected] 

Related Practice Areas

> Turnaround and Restructuring Services 
Navigating the many challenges confronting a company in transition requires an operationally focused approach that looks beyond the balance sheet to minimize further degradation and build a path to sustainable growth. Drawing upon decades of experience in the turnaround space, we help companies in transition identify practical strategies to improve profitability and liquidity for immediate relief, while concurrently developing and executing a comprehensive turnaround plan for long-term, sustainable value creation. 

 

> Operational Performance Improvement 
We leverage extensive experience to serve as a partner to organizations to implement the appropriate operational steps to grow their business and create enterprise value. Our experts have diverse backgrounds and are expert problem solvers. We rapidly assess a situation, develop a holistic solution, and execute efficiently with purpose.

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