Rental Equipment Investment Corp. Acquires Blackout Energy Services
Rental Equipment Investment Corp., a portfolio company of Kinderhook Industries LLC, announced today the acquisition of Blackout Energy Services Inc. Headquartered in Williston, N.D., Blackout Energy is a provider of specialty rental equipment, specializing in flameless heaters and light towers. Blackout Energy represents REIC's third add-on acquisition under Kinderhook's ownership and the company's 15th since its inception. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
“The Blackout Energy acquisition continues the growth of our specialty rental division, REIC Specialty LLC,” said Kevin Fitzgerald, CEO of REIC. “Blackout Energy is an excellent company with strong management that will allow us to expand our flameless heaters and light tower product offerings in the growing area of North Dakota and its surrounding states.”
Dennis Haller, CEO REIC Specialty, added, “We are very excited to welcome the Blackout Energy team to REIC’s special rental division. BOE has been a key customer for our JetHeat flameless heater product and expanded the awareness of the product throughout the Bakken market.”
“I am very excited to join the REIC Specialty team,” said Danny Morton, owner of Blackout Energy. “Combining our team with the resources of REIC and Kinderhook will allow us to grow the business to better service our customers the way we have been striving for.”
“The acquisition of Blackout Energy is consistent with REIC’s strategy for growing its specialty rental business,” said Paul Cifelli, managing director at Kinderhook. “Following the combination, REIC will now operate 14 standalone specialty locations.”
Financing for the transaction was provided by a PNC Capital Markets bank syndicate, which included Flagstar Bank, BancAlliance, Banc Hapoalim, First Merchants Bank, MUFG Union Bank and Stifel Bank & Trust.
Founded in 2003, Kinderhook Industries, LLC is a private investment firm that manages more than $5.2 billion of committed capital. It has made in excess of 325 investments and follow-on acquisitions since inception.
Founded in 2014 and headquartered in Kalispell, Mont., REIC is a multi-regional rental equipment services platform. REIC offers a broad selection of general and specialty rental equipment. The company’s general rental fleet includes aerial, earthmoving, power, compression and other small equipment pieces, while the specialty rental segment is focused on HVAC products. In addition to its Kalispell headquarters, REIC serves its customers out of a strategic footprint of 41 locations spanning North America (36 locations in the U.S. and five in Canada).
Rental Equipment Investment Corp. is No. 43 on the RER 100.
For more information please visit: https://www.reicorporation.com/
About the Author
Michael Roth
Editor
Michael Roth has covered the equipment rental industry full time for RER since 1989 and has served as the magazine’s editor in chief since 1994. He has nearly 30 years experience as a professional journalist. Roth has visited hundreds of rental centers and industry manufacturers, written hundreds of feature stories for RER and thousands of news stories for the magazine and its electronic newsletter RER Reports. Roth has interviewed leading executives for most of the industry’s largest rental companies and manufacturers as well as hundreds of smaller independent companies. He has visited with and reported on rental companies and manufacturers in Europe, Central America and Asia as well as Mexico, Canada and the United States. Roth was co-founder of RER Reports, the industry’s first weekly newsletter, which began as a fax newsletter in 1996, and later became an online newsletter. Roth has spoken at conventions sponsored by the American Rental Association, Associated Equipment Distributors, California Rental Association and other industry events and has spoken before industry groups in several countries. He lives and works in Los Angeles when he’s not traveling to cover industry events.