A look at the top rental industry news stories of 2006.
July
- Industrial Hoist Services acquires B&H Air Tools and Port Rentals, two Gulf Coast industrial equipment rental specialists with a combined $12 million in annual revenue, adding a wider range of air and hydraulic tools and other items to IHS’ extensive fleet of hoisting and lifting equipment.
- United Rentals acquires Carter Rental, Valdosta, Ga., a two-branch company with annual revenues of about $10 million.
- Sunbelt Rentals agrees to acquire NationsRent in a transaction valued at about $1.05 billion, extending the reach of the combined companies to eight additional states. The merger of Sunbelt Rentals, No. 4 on the RER 100, with NationsRent, No. 6, creates a chain of 477 branches, and makes Sunbelt the third-largest rental company in North America.
- The acquisition of NES Rentals by Diamond Castle Holdings LLC is completed, including debt payment and assumption of certain liabilities, for $18.75 per share, about $850 million.
- Hertz Global Holdings, parent company of Hertz Equipment Rental Corp., files with the SEC for an IPO of its common stock.
- Caterpillar Inc. reports a 41-percent increase in profit per share for the second quarter, with revenue of $10.6 billion and profit of $1 billion for the quarter, highest of any quarter in its history. CEO Jim Owens calls it the company’s strongest financial performance since the 1960s.
August
- Atlas Copco names Erik Olsson CEO of Rental Service Corp., replacing Tom Zorn.
- Private equity group Oakmont Acquisition Corp. agrees to acquire operating assets of One Source Equipment Rentals, a five-location rental company based in Morton, Ill., with about $20 million annual revenue.
September
- Seattle-based scaffolding and access specialist SafeWorks LLC acquired by Chicago-based private equity firm Wynnchurch Capital.
- Dallas-based Sammons Enterprise, parent company of Briggs Equipment, agrees to acquire the material-handling division of Finning UK Ltd. for about 85 million pounds (U.S. $160 million). Briggs Equipment UK will be Briggs’ first foray into the European market.
- Kanamoto Co., Japan’s largest equipment rental company, reaches agreement with another Japanese company and a Chinese company to establish a joint venture rental company in China, Shanghai Jinyuan Rental Co.
- Aggreko PLC agrees to acquire GE Energy Rentals for $212 million cash, increasing Aggreko’s core rental fleet capacity by about 30 percent and improving its abilities in entertainment, emergency response and gas-fueled power generation.
- Sunbelt Rentals finalizes acquisition of NationsRent, and announces plans to move to new corporate headquarters in Fort Mill, S.C., near Charlotte.
October
- Terex Corp. names former Toro executive Tim Ford to position of president, Terex Aerial Work Platforms, replacing longtime Genie CEO Bob Wilkerson. Wilkerson will continue with Terex working with CEO Ron DeFeo on special growth initiatives.
- Atlas Copco agrees to sell 85.5 percent of RSC Equipment Rental, North America’s second-largest rental company, to private equity firms Ripplewood Holdings and Oak Hill Capital Management for about $3.8 billion. Atlas Copco retains a 14.5-percent stake in the Scottsdale, Ariz.-based company.
- Specialty vehicle manufacturer Oshkosh Truck Corp. signs a definitive agreement to acquire JLG Industries, global leader in aerial work platforms and telehandlers, in a deal that surprises rental industry participants and JLG officials alike. The total price, including transaction costs and assumed debt, is $3.2 billion in cash.
- A-Plant, the United Kingdom equipment rental division of Ashtead Group plc, acquires Lux Traffic Controls for about U.S. $29 million, making A-Plant the largest provider of traffic systems on a rental basis in the U.K., and giving it more than 50 dedicated portable traffic-systems rental locations and more than 250 total equipment rental branches.
November
- Speedy Hire, one of the U.K.’s largest rental companies, acquires the U.K. assets of Lifting Gear Hire Ltd., for about U.S. $25 million in cash and Speedy shares. LGH has about 34 branches, so the acquisition doubles the size of Speedy Hire’s lifting division.
- The American Rental Association selects Dugan Hill, the executive who led the development of Prime Equipment Co. in its early days, to its Rental Hall of Fame, along with Ed Malzahn, founder of trencher manufacturer Ditch Witch and creator of the modern trencher; and the first woman president of ARA, Pam McKenney.
- Third-quarter results again strong for rental companies: United Rentals’ earnings per share rise 20 percent, with total revenues jumping 9.3 percent; Stephenson’s Rental Services grows revenue 40.8 percent; Ahern Rentals revenue rises 31 percent, with rental revenue leaping 30.9 percent; and H&E Equipment Services hiking total revenue 37.4 percent and rental revenue 33.5 percent.
- Hertz Global Holdings raises $1.32 billion in one of the largest IPOs of the year. Still price falls short of expectations, with the offering of 88 million shares selling for $15 per share, compared with forecasted price range of $16 to $18 per share.
- JLG Industries announces its fiscal first-quarter consolidated revenues jumped 12.7 percent year over year, with net income climbing 42.9 percent.
December
- Hirequip, New Zealand’s largest rental company, agrees to sell to a Japanese private equity firm for about U.S. $112 million.
- Aggreko plc’s acquisition of GE Energy Rentals is finalized.
- Oshkosh Truck Corp.’s acquisition of JLG Industries is finalized.
