Houlihan Lokey Advises Vertex Energy

Houlihan Lokey is pleased to announce the sale of Vertex Energy, Inc.’s (Vertex) (NASDAQ:VTNR) Heartland Used Motor Oil Collections and Refining Assets to GFL Environmental, Inc. (GFL) (NYSE:GFL). The transaction closed on February 1, 2023.

Vertex, headquartered in Houston, is an energy transition company focused on the production and distribution of conventional and alternative fuels. Vertex owns a refinery in Mobile, Alabama, with an operable refining capacity of 75,000 barrels per day and more than 3.2 million barrels of product storage, positioning it as a leading supplier of fuels in the region. The company is also one of the largest processors of used motor oil (UMO) in the U.S., with operations located in Houston and Port Arthur, Texas; Marrero, Louisiana; and Columbus, Ohio. Vertex also owns a facility, Myrtle Grove, located on a 41-acre industrial complex along the Gulf Coast in Belle Chasse, Louisiana, with existing hydroprocessing and plant infrastructure assets, which include 9 million gallons of storage. The company has built a reputation as a key supplier of base oils to the lubricant manufacturing industry throughout North America.

Heartland is a vertically integrated specialty refiner and marketer of high-quality hydrocarbon products, specializing in used oil collection, refining, and upcycling. Heartland operates across Ohio, Kentucky, West Virginia, Indiana, and Pennsylvania and collects and aggregates ~22 million gallons of UMO annually via self-collection and third-party vendors. Heartland uses state-of-the-art UMO refining technologies that “upcycle” UMO gallons into a high-purity Group II+ base oil, along with valuable co-products such as fuel oil and asphalt flux.

GFL, headquartered in Vaughan, Ontario, is the fourth largest diversified environmental services company in North America, providing a comprehensive line of solid waste management, liquid waste management, and soil remediation services through its platform of facilities throughout Canada and in more than half of the United States. Across its organization, GFL has a workforce of more than 19,500 employees.

Houlihan Lokey served as the exclusive financial advisor to Vertex and assisted in marketing, structuring, and negotiating the transaction on behalf of the company. This deal highlights Houlihan Lokey’s preeminent position and continued success advising clients in the environmental services sector, including public company advisory.