The Globe and Mail reports in its Saturday, July 4, edition that GFL Environmental has been approached by two private equity firms about a potential privatization, says an unnamed source, with the bidders looking to capitalize on a recent market sell-off across the waste management sector. The Globe's Tim Kiladze writes that GFL has held talks with two parties, and one offer is more formalized than the other, says the source, but there is no guarantee that a deal will be reached. GFL's shares were down 18 per cent over the past year before the private equity interest was first reported by Bloomberg on Friday. Over the same time period, GFL's three major North American rivals are roughly flat to down 10 per cent, while the S&P 500 is up 19 per cent. The buyout approaches at GFL follow the April announcement that it would acquire Calgary-based Secure Waste Infrastructure for $5.4-billion. GFL paid for the deal mostly using shares, with Secure agreeing to receive a split of 80-per-cent stock and 20-per-cent cash. GFL's shares climbed 7.6 per cent on Friday, giving the company a market value of $21-billion. Founded in 2007 in Vaughan, Ont., GFL has a history with private equity backers.