United Site Services Lawsuit and Chapter 11 Bankruptcy

United Site Services, the country’s largest portable sanitation provider, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on December 29, 2025 to eliminate more than $2.4 billion in debt built up under private equity ownership. The company emerged roughly two months later, on March 5, 2026, after a court-approved plan transferred control from sponsor Platinum Equity to a group of former lenders led by Clearlake Capital and Searchlight Capital Partners.¹² The business kept operating throughout the case and continues to run its more than 140 locations and roughly 300,000-unit portable restroom fleet.

How USS Piled Up $2.4 Billion in Debt

Platinum Equity bought United Site Services in 2017 for about $1.2 billion, financing the deal with a $475 million first-lien term loan and a $280 million second-lien term loan. Leverage at closing sat at roughly 65 percent of the purchase price. Under Platinum, USS kept rolling up smaller operators, adding 36 more acquisitions over four years.³

In November 2021, Platinum moved USS into what it called a continuation fund vehicle valued at $3.75 billion. Existing investors cashed out about $2.6 billion; roughly $1.3 billion in equity was rolled into the new entity, backed by Fortress Investment Group, Landmark Partners, and Blackstone Strategic Partners.⁴ Funded debt climbed to about $2.6 billion, including a $2 billion first-lien term loan, $550 million in senior unsecured notes, a $200 million asset-based lending revolver, and a $100 million cash-flow revolver.³

The macro backdrop then turned against the company. In 2022, inflation hit 7 percent and fuel costs rose roughly 40 percent, pushing EBITDA margins from about 35 percent down to 25 percent. In 2023, SOFR climbed from near zero to over 5.3 percent, and annual interest expense jumped from $130 million to $245 million. A residential construction slowdown pulled revenue to $1.05 billion and margins to around 22 percent, producing roughly $150 million in annual cash burn.³ Construction generates about 70 percent of USS revenue, so the housing slowdown hit the top line hard.⁵

Facing projected liquidity exhaustion by April 2024, Platinum Equity fronted a $60 million bridge loan at 11 percent, secured by USS’s plastic toilet units held in a newly formed subsidiary.³

The 2024 Double-Dip That Didn’t Save It

In the summer and fall of 2024, USS executed an out-of-court liability management exercise using a structure known in credit markets as a double-dip. A new subsidiary, Vortex Opco LLC, borrowed against a $2.565 billion secured intercompany loan to USS. The deal raised $300 million in new money, captured a $201 million debt discount, and pushed maturities to 2030.⁶³ It didn’t stabilize the company. By late 2025 Platinum was preparing to hand control to the lenders, and Fortress, Ares Management, and Blackstone faced a combined loss of roughly $1.4 billion on the continuation vehicle investment.⁷

Inside the Chapter 11 Case

USS filed for Chapter 11 on December 29, 2025 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey, before Judge Michael B. Kaplan (Case No. 25-23630).⁸ The filing was pre-arranged. USS came in with a restructuring support agreement already signed by an ad hoc group of six lenders holding $1.9 billion in debt, along with Platinum Equity and other creditors.⁹

To fund operations during the case, the company secured $120 million in debtor-in-possession financing from members of the ad hoc lender group, drawn in two tranches of $62.5 million and $57.5 million after interim and final approvals.⁸¹⁰

CastleKnight’s Challenge

Not every creditor signed on. CastleKnight Master Fund, holding $377 million in secured and unsecured USS debt, refused to join the negotiations and opposed the filing. It specifically challenged the legality of the 2024 double-dip transaction, targeting the additional guarantees given to lenders who participated. The litigation threatened to slow the case’s aggressive timeline.⁹ CastleKnight eventually settled and participated in the backstop and exit financing.¹¹

The Reorganization Plan and New Owners

The court confirmed the reorganization plan on February 27, 2026, and it became effective on March 3. Platinum Equity’s equity interest, along with other existing equity, was wiped out.¹¹

The reorganized company’s capital structure has two pieces:

$480 million in new equity, raised through a rights offering and direct investment, fully backstopped by the ad hoc lender group.
New debt consisting of $300 million in term loans, a $195 million asset-based lending facility, and a $100 million revolving credit facility.¹

The new ownership group is led by Clearlake Capital and Searchlight Capital Partners and includes Apollo Global Management, Oaktree Capital Management, Sixth Street, and Canyon Partners. Brandt McKee replaced Bobby Creason as CEO, and Matt Yu replaced John Hafferty as CFO. Creason and Hafferty stayed on during a transition period.²

What It Means for Customers and Employees

USS kept operating throughout the case. The company still runs more than 140 locations, maintains its roughly 300,000-unit portable restroom fleet, and employs more than 3,000 people serving construction, events, government, and disaster recovery customers.¹¹² The bankruptcy restructured the balance sheet; it did not shut down operations.

Separate USS Litigation Worth Knowing About

The Chapter 11 case is distinct from other lawsuits involving USS. The largest is Vargas v. Howard, a Fair Labor Standards Act collective action in the Southern District of New York brought by portable-toilet service technicians, including pump truck, flatbed truck, and water truck drivers. Workers alleged they were paid regular rates for the first 10 hours worked Monday through Thursday regardless of actual hours, had lunch breaks deducted despite working through them, and performed unpaid post-shift work. The case settled for $7.14 million, covering 96 opt-in plaintiffs and a certified class of more than 1,275 technicians.¹³ That settlement predates the Chapter 11 filing and is not part of it.

1
PR Newswire. United Site Services Successfully Completes Financial Recapitalization and New Growth Investment
2
Clearlake Capital. United Site Services Names Brandt McKee as Chief Executive Officer and Matt Yu as Chief Financial Officer
3
Restructuring Newsletter. United Site Services: A Royal Equity Flush
4
PR Newswire. Platinum Equity Forms Continuation Fund to Support Sustained Growth of United Site Services
5
Bondoro. United Site Services
6
S&P Global. Debt Restructuring Snapshot: PECF USS Intermediate Holding III Corp
7
Private Equity Wire. Fortress, Ares Among Firms Facing Total Loss on Portable Toilet Operator
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Octus. Case Summary: United Site Services
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CreditSights. Porta-Potty Provider United Site Services Looks to Flush Away $2.4B in Debt
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PR Newswire. United Site Services Reaches Agreement With Key Financial Stakeholders
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Elevenflo. United Site Services
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United Site Services. United Site Services
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Fox Rothschild – Wage Hour Law. Port-A-Potty Company Settles FLSA Overtime Collective Action