Caught me by surprise:

"General Environmental Management, Inc. announced this morning that it has signed a definitive letter of intent to acquire Santa Clara Waste Water (SCWW), a profitable, 50 year old wastewater treatment business. Earning the reputation of being one of the top 100 privately owned non-hazardous wastewater utilities in the U.S., SCWW has treated more than 2 billion gallons of wastewater. During 2008, the company generated over $34.8 Million in revenues.


GEM Chief Financial Officer, Brett Clark, added, “SCWW has a very profitable business model. We are acquiring the company and all of its assets for approximately three times its trailing EBITDA, plus the assumption of long term debt secured by SCWW’s plant and equipment. SCWW’s revenues in 2008 were approximately $7.6 million. The transaction is very accretive to GEM and will be paid for with a combination of cash, debt, and stock over the next three years. Details of the transaction will be provided upon closing, which is expected to occur within the next 60 days.”