Dive Brief:

• Shareholders from Progressive Waste Solutions and Waste Connections officially approved a planned merger last week. 
• The deal is valued around $2.7 billion and will combine the Canada-based Progressive with the Texas-based Waste Connections. Stockholders from Waste Connections will own approximately 70% of the company and Progressive shareholders will own approximately 30%.
• The combined company will be called Waste Connections and the deal is expected to be complete tomorrow (June 1).

Dive Insight:

This deal will make Waste Connections the third-largest service provider in the country, behind Waste Management and Republic Services. The newly combined company will have 273 collection operations, 132 transfer stations, 93 landfills, 71 recycling facilities, 24 saltwater disposal wells, and 20 exploration and production treatment facilities.

While Waste Connections experienced a significant net loss in the last quarter of 2015, both companies have shown strong revenue growth. The pending merger would be one of the largest in recent years and opens a large amount of U.S. and Canadian territory to Waste Connections. Progressive is estimated to have 4 million customers between the two countries. 

Since the proposed deal was announced in January, the companies have experienced some changes along the way but remained committed to the plan. Progressive's CEO stepped down at the time to pursue other career opportunities and the companies adjusted to new tax rules in April. The merger was also cited as one of the reasons that Progressive withdrew its proposal for a major export contract in New York earlier this month.