Environmental Risk Management For Investors

Transcription

1 Environmental Risk Management For Investors

2 Whether you re acquiring a business, securing debt, expanding or selling a business, framing environmental risk and identifying hidden opportunities can make a vital difference in your strategy and your success. RPS GaiaTech s specialized transaction professionals have successfully framed environmental risks for investors controlling their impact on company value for 20 years and we do it consistently.

3 The Environmental Equation Financial solutions to environmental problems. RPS GaiaTech provides value-added environmental risk management and engineering services to financial and strategic buyers, portfolio managers, and industrial clients, as well as to attorneys, lenders, and other interested parties. We specialize in transactional due diligence and the risk assessment of environmental liabilities. We then help resolve and manage such issues after a transaction closes. Our multidisciplinary consulting teams have deep experience in environmental sciences and engineering from hydrogeology to site remediation, from air quality management to regulatory compliance. We also offer environmental and engineering solutions to industrial and commercial property owners, and provide company managers with recommendations on reducing environmental, energy, and other related costs. Established in 1993, GaiaTech has offices throughout the United States and in Europe. Our recent merger with RPS Group creates a substantially larger presence in the environmental consulting sector worldwide and one that is better equipped to meet the challenges posed by complex, multi-disciplinary, global projects. RPS GaiaTech headquarters in Chicago

4 RPS GaiaTech worked with our advisors during the sale of Atlantis Plastics. As a direct result of their sell-side environmental expertise, reputation with transactional advisors and ability to anticipate buyers concerns, our sale process encountered no delays or surprises associated with environmental issues. Paul Saar Chief Financial Officer Atlantis Plastics

5 The Calculus of Risk Timely, accurate risk assessment is essential. Environmental issues can be complex but can often be resolved or managed with practical strategies to quantify and manage actual or potential liabilities over time. RPS GaiaTech is a proven leader in environmental due diligence and site investigations for stock and asset purchases, divestitures, and corporate restructuring in a broad range of industries. We have been engaged on global investment transactions with a total value of over $200 billion. With broad experience in complicated transactions, RPS GaiaTech appreciates the perspective of different parties to a deal. We understand the deal process from due diligence to close, from post-close planning to exit. At RPS GaiaTech, we customize our approach based on the proposed deal structure, mindful of the financial objectives of the parties to the transaction. We prioritize critical issues, review technical findings, and translate issues identified into their potential impact on business operations, considering their implications for cash flow and equity value. Finally, we present practical business-oriented environmental, engineering, and regulatory solutions in line with the strategic interests of our client.

6 RPS GaiaTech has worked with Builders FirstSource since our inception, and as we ve grown to be a $2.3 billion company. The firm gives us reports we can understand addressing complex environmental and regulatory issues in precise, actionable terms. RPS GaiaTech has been vital to our growth and acquisition strategy while helping us identify and mitigate environmental risk. Donald McAleenan Senior Vice President & General Counsel Builders FirstSource, Inc.

7 Value in the Balance Ensuring value for as long as you own the asset. After an acquisition, new business owners typically assume responsibility for environmental liabilities and ongoing compliance. At most middle-market manufacturers, such obligations can be fairly complex. Additional difficulties can arise at sites with a long history of industrial use or that have changed hands multiple times. Regulatory omissions can be costly, and lack of permits or oversight can prove to be a significant financial risk, resulting in fines, operational delays, even a plant shutdown. Addressing liabilities can make a vital difference in reducing regulatory risk, securing financing, or preparing for a sale. Working directly from the results of due diligence and site investigations, RPS GaiaTech helps company and portfolio managers resolve identified issues, presenting cost-effective, practical solutions. RPS GaiaTech acts as an on-call advisor as issues arise and companies expand. We help companies and owners manage their assets for their entire investment lifecycle, from industrial manufacturing plants to commercial property, from real estate portfolios to retail operations.

8 RPS GaiaTech has prepared several of our companies for sale. This process allowed us to identify concerns up front, correct them, and move on. The closing process was clean, simple and quick. It makes perfect sense to diligence assets before sale. This really helps to optimize returns. Peter Klein General Counsel & Partner Brockway Moran & Partners

9 Weighing Real Returns Preventing surprises when you decide to sell. Unanticipated environmental problems damage company value and can impact the timing for an exit. For companies considering the sale of all or a portion of the business, pre-planning minimizes complications at the deal close. By learning of concerns that could arise during a buyer s due diligence, you resolve issues before they become bargaining chips at the closing table. RPS GaiaTech offers several alternatives for ensuring a smooth path to an exit. Prior to a sale, our experts review and monitor environmental issues, helping ensure compliance with federal, state, and local regulatory requirements. We then conduct methodical audits to identify and address concerns prior to buyer due diligence. In this way, RPS GaiaTech protects investors from the unanticipated costs of environmental liabilities. We can inform investors and company management about unresolved issues to be negotiated and allow deficiencies to be corrected in advance of a sale. This reduces any potential impact of issues raised by a buyer s consultant or counsel at closing.

10 RPS GaiaTech was retained by a large national commercial REIT to conduct Property Condition Assessments (PCA) in preparation for lease termination agreements. Our work, which included PCAs at three substantial commercial properties, provided the basis for the client to recover costs to repair deferred maintenance from the exiting tenants. After RPS GaiaTech completed the exit assessments for this property owner and forecasted prospective cost-savings, we projected the client s return on their investment in our services to be several hundred percent.

11 Ensuring Asset Value Addressing concerns for real estate owners. Transferring real estate assets can entail complex issues, from ensuring indoor air quality to reviewing access issues, from structural integrity to zoning and use permits. These make environmental and engineering due diligence vitally important for real estate owners and operators. RPS GaiaTech s team of experienced real estate and facilities professionals help clients evaluate the environmental and engineering risks associated with the purchase or sale of real property. We assess and quantify environmental liabilities associated with the asset that will change hands. We then resolve those liabilities by applying the appropriate engineering solutions. RPS GaiaTech advises buyers, lenders, property managers, investment advisors and attorneys, as well as those managing significant real estate portfolios. We also provide ongoing services to commercial developers, individual property owners, leasing groups, and real estate brokers.

12 MAHLE has worked with RPS GaiaTech for some years as a valued and trusted business partner to provide and support our environmental programs in North America. MAHLE has complex industrial operations in many jurisdictions and RPS GaiaTech provides us ongoing environmental management from energy audits to site remediation at these multiple facilities. Due to RPS GaiaTech s industry-leading experience, they are an equal partner at the table when we scope the environmental strategies for our North American operations, and their business-oriented approach to environmental management provides a genuine benefit to MAHLE s sustained success. The MAHLE Group

13 Services RPS GaiaTech offers the following services in accordance with ASTM and other industry standards. Environmental Due Diligence Phase I Environmental Site Assessments Phase II Environmental Site Investigations Exit Audits Schedules and Budgeting Insurance Recovery Consulting Financial Reporting Risk Advisory Regulatory Compliance Compliance Audits Environmental Management Systems Compliance Timelines and Planning Permitting and Reporting Air Quality Management Asbestos Surveys Record keeping Site Investigation & Closure Geoscience Investigations Remediation System Design Soil and Groundwater Treatment Waste Treatment System Design Remediation Project Management Site Monitoring Regulatory Site Closure Engineering Property Condition Assessments ADA Assessments Seismic Loss Evaluation Indoor Air Quality Assessments Mold and Mildew Investigations Construction Loan Monitoring Process Optimization

14 RPS GaiaTech has been a trusted advisor for over a decade, providing pragmatic business advice in an area not well understood in the investment community. They are a key provider of due diligence for us, and have proven to be an extraordinary environmental management resource for our portfolio companies. Angus Littlejohn Littlejohn & Co., LLC

15 Balance the Equation Addressing environmental risk assures financial reward. At RPS GaiaTech, we know that significant environmental liabilities impair asset value and impede growth. We also understand the needs of transaction participants, from cost control to cash-flow management to final return on their investment. Since 1993, we have provided responsive, practical, businessoriented environmental services that comply with environmental regulations while preserving the strategic interests of investors. Based in Chicago and with regional offices across the United States and internationally, RPS GaiaTech has performed complex environmental risk assessment, engineering, and management projects throughout the world.

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