Top News Stories of 2016: Sunbelt Rentals and A-Plant Continue Acquisition Efforts

Sunbelt Rentals and its U.K. sister company A-Plant completed 12 acquisitions during its fiscal year 2016 for a total cash consideration of £65 million (about U.S. $92 million) and have added four more in the past month and a half for about the same amount.

Michael Roth

Jan. 1, 2017

3 min read

Glendale Califbased Richardson Equipment Rentals was one of a dozen companies acquired by Sunbelt and APlant in its recently concluded fiscal year — Glendale, Calif.-based Richardson Equipment Rentals was one of a dozen companies acquired by Sunbelt and A-Plant in its recently concluded fiscal year.

During its recently concluded fiscal year, Ashtead pulled the trigger on the following deals:

On May 29, 2015, Sunbelt acquired the business and assets of C. Rowland Enterprises, trading as Air Systems Sales & Rentals for about $2 million, with additional payment depending on revenue. Air Systems is a climate control business in Oregon;
On Aug. 28, 2015, Sunbelt acquired Dover Rent-All in Delaware, a general rental firm, for about $2 million;
On Oct. 1, 2015, Sunbelt acquired Pinnacle Rentals and Pinnacle Tool & Supply Ltd for about $24 million. Pinnacle is an industrial equipment business in Texas;
On Oct. 2, 2015, A-Plant acquired Fraluk Ltd. for about £1 million, a climate control business in the U.K.;
On Oct. 9, 2015, Sunbelt acquired The Rental Store, a general equipment company in Alberta, Canada, for close to $1 million;
On Oct. 28, 2015, A-Plant acquired G.B. Access Ltd., an access rental specialist in the U.K. for £6 million, with an additional £1 to be paid during the following year;
On Dec. 1, 2015, A-Plant acquired Euremica Ltd., a specialist test instrumentation service provider, for £0.8 million;
Also on Dec. 1, Sunbelt acquired certain business and assets of Saskatchewan Ltd., trading as Handy Rental Centre, a general rental business, for £6 million;
On Dec. 31, Sunbelt acquired Okotoks Rentals for £16 million, with contingent consideration of up to £1 million over the next two years. Okotoks is a general equipment rental business in Alberta, Canada;
On Jan. 7, 2016, Sunbelt acquired Richardson Equipment Rentals for $9 million, a general equipment rental company in Glendale, Calif.;
On Jan. 18, 2016, A-Plant acquired Rapid Climate Control Ltd. for £3 million;
On April 1, 2016, Sunbelt acquired New Orleans-based Equipco for $10 million.

Sunbelt and A-Plant have continued to be active on the acquisition trail since the end of fiscal 2016.

On May 2, Sunbelt acquired the business and assets of I&L Rentals for $67 million, a general equipment rental business in Hawaii. I&L was founded by Ira Mendelsohn and Larry Grasse in 2010 and grew to become the largest equipment rental company serving the Hawaiian islands, with a wide range of construction equipment. Customers include industrial accounts and contractors serving commercial, military and municipal markets. Craft Parnters served as the exclusive financial advisor to I&L;
On May 20, Sunbelt acquired LoadBanks of America, a division of Austin Welder & Generator Services for $6 million in cash. LBA provides testing solutions for power systems;
Also on May 20, A-Plant acquired the business and assets of Mather & Stuart Ltd., a temporary power rental business for £7 million;
On June 6, Sunbelt acquired Portable Rental Solutions and One Source Cooling, a temporary heating and cooling business in Texas for $10 million.

Based in Fort Mill, S.C., Sunbelt Rentals is No. 2 on the RER 100.

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.