Hertz Equipment Rental Corp. has acquired Burbank, Calif.-based 24/7 Studio Equipment, according to sources close to the situation. HERC acquired First Call Studio Equipment in Sylmar, Calif., as its first major foray into the rental of equipment for film and television production. As film and television production increasingly branches out beyond California, HERC hopes, with the acquisition of 24/7, to leverage its national presence to grow in the film production market.
In the past year and a half, HERC has aggressively pursued growth by acquisition and international expansion. Last month it acquired Western Machinery, a leading rental company in Hawaii. In August of this year, it bought RentOne, an Italian power generation rental specialist; in February it entered into a joint venture to establish equipment rentals in Saudi Arabia; in July 2009, it acquired Irving Industrial Rental, Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada; in April, 2009 it bought Rent One, a power generation rental company in Spain. HERC also established rental facilities in China.
According to the sources, the staff of 24/7, including founder and president Lance Sorenson, will remain with the company and work with HERC.
24/7 is No. 101 on the expanded RER 100.
HERC, based in Park Ridge, N.J., is No. 4 on the RER 100.
More details on the acquisition will be reported at www.rermag.com as they become available.
