GFL Raises $1.4 Billion From its IPO Debut

Canada based waste management firm GFL Environmental Inc. launched its widely anticipated initial public offering on Monday raising a total of $1.4 billion from it.

GFL priced its shares at $19 in the IPO giving it a market value of $6.08 billion. This value was way lower than its earlier target of $20 to $21 per share.

The company said markets volatility all over the world caused by outbreak of coronavirus forced it to price the shares below its targeted range.

Patrick Dovigi, the company’s founder and CEO, expressed how exited he was that they managed to launch the IPO despite hostile market conditions brought about by coronavirus outbreak.

“I’m thrilled that in the face of very challenging market conditions over the last week, we were able to successfully market and price one of the largest IPOs in TSX history,” said Dovigi in an email.

Initially the company had planned to raise $1.54 billion from its IPO by selling 73.2 million shares for $20 to $21 each. The company managed to sale 75 million shares in its IPO however at a lower price of $19 per share, disclosed an insider source who requested their identity to be concealed since this information has not yet been made public.

Initially GFL had slated its IPO on Tuesday but the IPO took place on Monday. The company says it switched to Monday since markets rebounded from a last week’s losses.

In the IPO, GFL used JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM), Bank of Montreal (BMO), Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS), Royal Bank of Canada (RY) and Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS) as its underwriters.

The company share will be available for trading starting from Tuesday whereby the company will be using the ticker ‘TSX’ in the New York Stock Exchange and ‘GFL’ in Toronto Stock Exchange.