Maxim Crane to Acquire Coast Crane from Essex Rental Corp.

April 21, 2017

Maxim Crane Works has agreed to acquire Coast Crane Co. from Essex Rental Corp. in a stock transaction worth about $72.5 million, subject to closing date working capital and other adjustments.

Michael Roth

Maxim Crane Works has agreed to acquire Coast Crane Co. from Essex Rental Corp. in a stock transaction worth about $72.5 million, subject to closing date working capital and other adjustments. Founded in 1970 and based in Seattle, Coast is one of the largest providers of bare crane rental and related lift solution on the West Coast of the United States. Maxim’s acquisition of Coast strengthens it on the West Coast.

According to the agreement, Maxim will acquire all of the issued and outstanding shares of Coast’s parent company, CC Acquisition Holding Co. The sale has been approved by Essex’s board of directors and is expected to close during the second quarter, subject to customary closing conditions and the approval of Essex stockholders.

“Coast Crane offers one of the most experienced teams of crane professionals in the region,” said Maxim CEO Bryan Carlisle. “Their state-of-the-art fleet provides customers with a best-in-class brand of products, parts, services and rental equipment. We are confident that the combination of Coast and Maxim will bring added value to our combined customer base, employees and the industry.”

“We believe that this transaction delivers the best current return for our shareholders and provides a good opportunity for our employees to work for a company positioned for growth due to its experienced management team, future business prospects and strong balance sheet,” added Essex Rental Corp. CEO Nick Matthews.

Coast Crane has 11 branches in Alaska, British Columbia, California, Hawaii, Oregon, Texas and Washington and owns more than 200 cranes. Coast was acquired out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2010 by Essex Crane Rental. Essex delisted from the Nasdaq Stock Exchange last year and sold most of its crane assets to Maxim.

In conjunction with entering into the stock purchase agreement, Coast entered into a Fifth Amendment to its Second Amended and Restated Credit Agreement with Wells Fargo.

Maxim Crane Works has been in a growth mode having acquired the Essex assets last year along with Florida-based Crane Rental Corp. Also in early May, funds managed by Apollo Global Management acquired Maxim as well as AmQuip Crane Rental.

Maxim Crane Works, based in Bridgeview, Pa., is No. 6 on the RER 100.