New Zealand’s Hirepool Continues Acquisition Strategy

New Zealand’s largest rental company, Hirepool, has made two acquisitions one month after itself being acquired by an Australian private equity firm. Managing director Tenby Powell last week announced that Hirepool has purchased Port-a-Loo, based in Christchurch, and Davies Hire, a 50-plus-year-old general rental company based in Auckland. The acquisitions are scheduled to be effective Sept. 1, with existing management teams from both companies continuing in place. Last month Goldman Sachs JB Were NZ divested its investment in Hirepool, which it obtained in July 2003, to Next Capital for about NZ $172 million. The deal gave Next Capital about an 80-percent ownership of Hirepool, with the rest controlled by Powell. With the acquisition, Hirepool grows to 54 branches. It had 14 when Powell took over operation of the company in July 2003. In the past two years, Hirepool has become a major player in the growing portable sanitation rental market, with acquisitions of Port-a-Loo Auckland, Port-a-Loo Wellington, Marlborough and now Christchurch.