Tool and equipment rental specialist HSS Hire Service Group is looking at strategic alternatives and might sell to a private equity group before the end of 2012, the Manchester Evening News reported. HSS operates 227 branches in the U.K. and holds key accounts with major customers such as British Waterways and Enterprise.
Hedge fund Och-Ziff, which has a majority ownership interest in HSS, and another major investor Aurigo, have appointed Lazard & Co. as financial adviser to examine strategic options for the business, the report said. It added that the business is likely to be sold for much higher than the £310 million Och-Ziff and Aurigo paid for the company in 2007.
HSS Hire posted underlying earnings of £39.8 million (about U.S. $63.7 million) in 2011 on revenues of £180.2 million (about U.S. $288.2 million).
“The board regularly reviews the market to monitor the best options for the business, which has undergone significant transformational growth under current management and investment funding,” the company said in a statement. “HSS Hire is in a strong financial position, having traded successfully and expanded consistently during the last four years.”
HSS Hire is based in London.
