Industry Case: Recycled Metals Company
Due Diligence for Proposed Strategic Acquisition

In August of 2007, a large metals recycling company announced its merger with a similarly large recycler with more than fifty facilities across the US.

GaiaTech was asked to evaluate potential future environmental expenditures which may have been incurred in connection with the ongoing operation of the US company’s business, and to address known or presumed environmental impacts and/or liabilities at the facilities.

During the review, GaiaTech visited 20 facilities to inspect key operational areas. We interviewed key representatives at each site regarding their operations and the site’s history, and conducted reviews online for the remaining 33 sites. We reviewed environmental databases and historical sources, obtained limited supplemental information from the company during a conference call at the outset of the project, and submitted Freedom of Information Act and information requests to federal, state, and local agencies.

As a means of estimating and then reporting on potential environmental expenditures that may have been associated with existing site conditions, GaiaTech conducted a cost-to-cure evaluation of properties currently owned or leased by the US-based company.