CHICAGO — NES Rental Holdings last month completed the sale of its tank business to Odyssey Investment Partners, a private equity firm that acquired Neff Rental in 2005. Odyssey earlier this month agreed to sell Neff to Lightyear Capital LLC.

NES' tank division included 13 branches in Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Michigan, Tennessee and Texas. The proceeds for the $196 million transaction will be used to reduce NES' debt.

“The sale of the tank business is consistent with the company's strategy to concentrate on the aerial equipment rental business,” said NES chairman and CEO Andrew Studdert. “We have made significant investments in our fleet, having spent almost $300 million in new equipment since 2004, and have increased our emphasis on equipment maintenance, reliability and enhanced customer service.”

In March, NES sold its South Boston, Mass.-based Shaughnessy Crane Services to AmQuip Corp.

The tank division, re-named Evergreen Tank Solutions, has a fleet of about 6,200 units.

“We are pleased to acquire this market-leading business serving the growing petrochemical, natural gas production and environmental waste services industries,” said Randy Paulson, a managing principal of Odyssey. “Under the continued leadership of CEO Jeff Havens, who ran the business under NES, we expect that Evergreen will achieve continued success.”

Odyssey has extensive experience investing in both industrial manufacturing and localized service businesses. Evergreen is Odyssey's fifth platform in the equipment management sector. The firm's current and former portfolio includes Neff Corp.; Williams Scotsman Inc., a leading lessor of mobile office and storage units; United Site Services Inc., a leading provider of portable restroom services; and Dayton Superior Corp., a leading renter of concrete forming and shoring equipment.

Based in Chicago, NES Rental Holdings is No. 6 on the RER 100.