United Rentals has acquired Yak Access LLC, Yak Mat LLC and New South Access & Environmental Solutions LLC from Platinum Equity for approximately $1.1 billion in cash. The transaction and related expenses were funded through a combination of newly issued senior unsecured notes and existing capacity under the company’s ABL facility.
Yak is a leader in the North American matting industry with a fleet of approximately 600,000 hardwood, softwood, and composite mats providing surface protection across construction and maintenance, repair and operations applications. Yak predominantly serves customers in the utility and midstream verticals. In 2023 Yak generated $171 million of adjusted EBITDA on $353 million of adjusted revenue in more than 40 U.S. states. Yak Mat is the largest supplier of hardwood mats in North America. Yak carries all mat types to accommodate any project type.
Matthew Flannery, CEO of United Rentals, said, “Today we are very excited to welcome Yak to the United Rentals family. This is an acquisition with both strong strategic and financial merits. Not only does it augment our growth capacity with the addition of a leading North American matting solutions provider but it also further differentiates our one-stop-shop value proposition to customers. Combined, this has proven to be a winning strategy for building long-term value for our investors.”
The company plans to update its 2024 financial outlook to reflect the combined operations when it releases financial results for the first quarter in April.
Yak’s CEO at the time of the sale was Frank Bardonaro, who served as president and chief operating officer of Maxim Crane for nine years.
