Billionaire head of GFL says violent attacks won’t distract his business, company working with investigators

GFL Environmental’s billionaire CEO, Patrick Dovigi, says the waste-management firm is co-operating with investigators and ramping up security measures following a series of recent violent attacks targeting its facilities and employees. 
Addressing analysts at GFL’s third-quarter earnings call on Thursday morning, Dovigi confirmed investigators had reached out and the company was working with them, but assured investors the incidents will not “distract us from continuing to drive the business forward.” 
“We are co-operating in the investigations and trust that the authorities will bring them to a successful resolution, hopefully in the near term,” he said, adding that GFL is reviewing its security measures with third-party consultants. “We also remain focused on the safety and well-being of our employees.” 
So far, there have been four shootings related to GFL or Dovigi and three arsons at the firm’s properties. 
Last week, a GFL hauling yard on Weston Road in Vaughan was the latest target of an overnight shooting. No injuries have been reported. 
Investigators with the Toronto Police Guns and Gangs unit said they are looking at the incident as part of a larger case involving a Sept. 29 shooting at Dovigi’s Rosedale home. Shortly afterward, shots were fired into another home in Toronto, reportedly owned by Ted Manziaris, one of Dovigi’s associates at GFL.
And in late October, police confirmed evidence of gunfire at a home under construction in the area of Spadina Road and Eglinton Avenue West. The Star found that a company controlled by Dovigi owns a home under construction just 600 metres from the intersection on Old Forest Hill Road, but Dovigi denied knowledge of a shooting there. 
The arsons, first reported by the Globe and Mail, happened over the summer at three different GFL sites — two in Vaughan and one in Windsor. 
On Thursday, Dovigi also addressed rumours of criminal connections in the waste-management industry. 
“Investors in GFL now include the highest-quality institutions, from private-equity funds to pension funds, sovereign wealth funds and leading financial institutions around the world,” he said. “Many of our investors have been with GFL since our early days, and have done extensive due diligence on GFL, our leadership team and the industry.” 
Among those backers are the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan — Canada’s largest single-profession pension plan with $255.8 billion in net assets — and BC Partners. 
GFL announced third-quarter revenue on Wednesday of $2 billion, representing a 9.3 per cent increase compared with the same period in 2023.
The company also said it has received proposals from potential buyers to acquire its environmental services division, and expects a sale to occur for a minimum of $6 billion after tax by fiscal year-end.
Dovigi said GFL plans to use the cash from the sale to repay $3.5 billion of debt and the rest will go toward share buybacks and other corporate purposes. 
The 17-year-old waste-management giant grew by acquiring and integrating more than 250 firms since its inception with just $250,000 in startup capital in 2007, according to Dovigi.
This “roll-up” business model has contributed to its massive success, analysts say, though some are worried about the level of debt GFL accumulated over time versus what it earns today. 
“They have much more debt in their capital structure than their peers, and yet their returns are about the same as the peer group,” Veritas analyst Darryl McCoubrey told the Star in October.
McCoubrey said he sees a risk in GFL because it doesn’t disclose all of its debt, particularly of smaller subsidiaries, adding that he is worried about “blind spots” in its financial picture. 
“We don’t know how much debt is off balance sheet, and because GFL has a lot of debt already, it’s more of a concern than usual.”
GFL said it recorded the lowest net leverage in company history last quarter.