May 3, 2023

Bossier City, LA – Live Oak Environmental (“Live Oak”), a portfolio company of Kinderhook Industries, LLC (“Kinderhook”), announced the acquisition of Piney Woods Sanitation Inc. (“Piney Woods”), a growing municipal, commercial, and industrial solid waste collection company headquartered in Huntington, Texas. The acquisition represents Live Oak’s fifth add-on acquisition since July 2021 and Kinderhook’s 93^rd environmental services transaction since inception. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Headquartered in Bossier City, Louisiana, Live Oak is a leading regional solid waste collection company with over 180,000 residential, commercial, and industrial waste customers as well as a network of well-permitted post-collection facilities.

“We are thrilled to announce the acquisition of Piney Woods. This acquisition represents our continued focus on targeting fast-growing solid waste collection companies with post-collection assets throughout East Texas,” said Joe Burkel, Chief Executive Officer of Live Oak Environmental. “Piney Woods is a unique asset with a strong foundation of great municipal and residential subscription customers that provides Live Oak with greater density in our East Texas markets as well as two solid waste transfer stations.”

“Joe Burkel, Roy Walters, and the entire Live Oak team have done a tremendous job and continue to execute effectively on a robust M&A strategy,” said Rob Michalik, Managing Director at Kinderhook. “The team has completed five strategic and accretive acquisitions over the past twenty-four months and continues to see opportunity across our markets with a deep pipeline of acquisitions in front of us.”

“East Texas is one of the fastest-growing markets in the nation, with a dynamic mix of urban, suburban, and rural communities,” said Corwynne Carruthers, Managing Director at Kinderhook. “This population growth, coupled with a business-friendly environment and a supportive government, creates an extremely appealing environmental services market.”

Financing for the transaction was provided by a Comerica Bank led syndicate with participation from Fifth Third Bank, MUFG Bank, and Flagstar Bank. Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP served as legal counsel to Live Oak.

For additional information about this transaction, please contact: 
Robert Michalik
Managing Director
(212) 201-6789
[email protected]
 
Corwynne Carruthers
Managing Director
(212) 201-6799
[email protected]
 
Sam Keenan
Managing Director
(212) 201-6795
[email protected]