H&E Equipment Services Acquires Texas-Based Rental Company We-Rent-It

Jan. 8, 2019

2 min read

WeRentIt with six Texas branches is a general nonresidential construction equipment rental company — We-Rent-It, with six Texas branches, is a general non-residential construction equipment rental company.

H&E Equipment Services has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire We-Rent-It, a non-residential construction-focused equipment rental company with six branches serving the growing central Texas market. Under the terms of the agreement, H&E is expected to pay approximately $100 million in cash for WRI, subject to customary adjustments. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2019 and is subject to customary closing conditions including Hart-Scott-Rodino Act clearance.

“We are executing on our stated growth strategy by announcing a definitive agreement to acquire WRI, which we believe is similar in terms of solid operational and financial performance to our two previous acquisitions in 2018,” said Brad Barber, H&E’s CEO and president. “The addition of WRI’s six branches will significantly expand our presence in the vibrant central Texas markets of Austin, Bryan/College Station, and San Antonio metro areas. As of November 30, 2018, WRI generated revenues of approximately $35.6 million for the last 12 months and its fleet size was $75.9 million, based on original equipment cost. WRI is a well-run and respected rental operator with longstanding customer relationships and we look forward to their employees joining the H&E family.”

We-Rent-It, headquartered in Bryan, Texas, with six branches, is No. 85 on the RER 100. H&E Equipment Services, headquartered in Baton Rouge, La., is No. 10 on the RER 100, with 89 branches prior to this acquisition.

The Stansberry Firm represented We-Rent-It in the transaction.

About the Author

Michael Roth

Editor

Michael Roth has covered the equipment rental industry full time for RER since 1989 and has served as the magazine’s editor in chief since 1994. He has nearly 30 years experience as a professional journalist. Roth has visited hundreds of rental centers and industry manufacturers, written hundreds of feature stories for RER and thousands of news stories for the magazine and its electronic newsletter RER Reports. Roth has interviewed leading executives for most of the industry’s largest rental companies and manufacturers as well as hundreds of smaller independent companies. He has visited with and reported on rental companies and manufacturers in Europe, Central America and Asia as well as Mexico, Canada and the United States. Roth was co-founder of RER Reports, the industry’s first weekly newsletter, which began as a fax newsletter in 1996, and later became an online newsletter. Roth has spoken at conventions sponsored by the American Rental Association, Associated Equipment Distributors, California Rental Association and other industry events and has spoken before industry groups in several countries. He lives and works in Los Angeles when he’s not traveling to cover industry events.