As previously disclosed, on June 3, 2024, Stericycle, Inc., a Delaware corporation (“Stericycle” or the “Company”), entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger (the “Merger Agreement”) with Waste Management, Inc., a Delaware corporation (“Parent”) and Stag Merger Sub Inc., a Delaware corporation and an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Parent (“Merger Sub”). Pursuant to the terms of the Merger Agreement, Merger Sub will merge with and into Stericycle (the “Merger”), with Stericycle continuing as the surviving corporation of the Merger and as an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Parent. As previously disclosed, on August 14, 2024, the Company’s stockholders approved the transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement, including the Merger.
In connection with the Merger, on July 3, 2024, Stericycle filed a Notification and Report Form as required under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as amended (the “HSR Act”), with the Federal Trade Commission (the “FTC”) and the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice. Parent voluntarily withdrew its Notification and Report Form on August 2, 2024 and refiled on August 6, 2024. On September 5, 2024 at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time, the waiting period with respect to the Notification and Report Form under the HSR Act expired. Accordingly, the condition to the Merger relating to the expiration or termination of the waiting period under the HSR Act has been satisfied. The Merger has also received antitrust clearance from the Competition Authority (Autoridade da Concorrência) of Portugal and confirmation from the UK Competition and Markets Authority that it has no further questions. In addition, the Merger has received foreign investment approval from the UK Investment Security Unit within the Cabinet Office.
Stericycle anticipates completing the Merger as early as the fourth quarter of 2024, subject to the satisfaction or waiver of the closing conditions specified in the Merger Agreement, including the clearance of the Merger under the Canadian Competition Act, the Spanish Competition Act and foreign investment laws of Spain.
Forward Looking Statements
This filing contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the context of the statement and generally arise when Stericycle or its management is discussing its beliefs, estimates or expectations. Such statements generally include words such as “believes,” “expects,” “intends,” “anticipates,” “estimates,” “continues,” “may,” “plan,” “will,” “goal,” or similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are prospective in nature and are not based on historical facts, but rather on current expectations and projections of our management about future events and are therefore subject to risks and uncertainties, many of which are outside Stericycle’s control, which could cause actual results to differ materially from what is contained in such forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including, without limitation: (1) the inability to consummate the proposed transaction within the anticipated time period, or at all, due to any reason, including the failure to obtain required regulatory approvals for the proposed transaction or the failure to satisfy the other conditions to the consummation of the proposed transaction; (2) the risk that the proposed transaction disrupts Stericycle’s current plans and operations or diverts management’s attention from its ongoing business; (3) the effect of the announcement of the proposed transaction on the ability of Stericycle to retain and hire key personnel and maintain relationships with its customers, suppliers and others with whom it does business; (4) the effect of the announcement of the proposed transaction on Stericycle’s operating results and business generally; (5) the significant costs, fees and expenses related to the proposed transaction; (6) the risk that Stericycle’s stock price may decline significantly if the proposed transaction is not consummated; (7) the nature, cost and outcome of any litigation and other legal proceedings, including any such proceedings related to the proposed transaction and instituted against Stericycle and/or its directors, executive officers or other related persons; and (8) other factors that could affect Stericycle’s business such as, without limitation, inflationary cost pressure in labor, supply chain, energy, and other expenses, decreases in the volume of regulated wastes or personal and confidential information collected from customers, and disruptions resulting from deployment of systems, disruptions in our supply chain, changing market conditions in the healthcare industry, competition and demand for services in the regulated waste and secure information destruction industries, Sorted Office Paper (“SOP”) pricing volatility or pricing volatility in other commodities, changes in the volume of paper processed by our secure information destruction business and the revenue generated from the sale of SOP, and changes in governmental regulation of the collection, transportation, treatment and disposal of regulated waste or the proper handling and protection of personal and confidential information.
