Investment Group Buys Utah's Diamond Rental

June 1, 2000
SALT LAKE CITY - Maun Petersen and Lorin Winegar, owners of Salt Lake City-based Diamond Rental & Sales, have sold their company to Rubicon Ventures,

SALT LAKE CITY - Maun Petersen and Lorin Winegar, owners of Salt Lake City-based Diamond Rental & Sales, have sold their company to Rubicon Ventures, a locally based investment group.

Rubicon, an equity group formed for the acquisition and backed by several investors, is run by Troy Porras and Mark Clawson, who will serve as chief executive officers of Diamond Rental. Petersen and Winegar, who founded Diamond in 1978, will continue with the company, Petersen heading up corporate development and strategic planning and Winegar as chief operating officer.

Diamond, one of the leading independent rental companies in the region, has eight tool and equipment branches oriented to the homeowner/light-construction market, and a party division known as Diamond Party.

"Lorin and I weren't interested in selling, but we wanted to take the company to a new level, and [Porras and Clawson] have new ideas and energy to do that," Petersen told RER. "The name of the company stays the same, the people stay the same. With the additional investment and leadership, we'll be able to grow and expand and do things I've always wanted to do."

Petersen said Diamond has already signed a lease for an additional branch here and plans to expand further, possibly beyond Utah's borders.

Latek Capital initiated, negotiated and managed the transaction on behalf of the sellers.