United Rentals Finalizes Acquisition of NES Rentals

United Rentals today said that it has completed its previously announced acquisition of NES Rentals Holdings for a total purchase price of approximately $965 million in cash.

Michael Roth

April 5, 2017

2 min read

The acquisition of NES enhances United Rentals39 presence in industrial markets — The acquisition of NES enhances United Rentals' presence in industrial markets.

United Rentals today said that it has completed its previously announced acquisition of NES Rentals Holdings for a total purchase price of approximately $965 million in cash. The purchase was funded through a combination of newly issued unsecured debt and available capacity on the company’s ABL facility.

The acquisition increases the company's density in strategically important markets, including the East Coast, Gulf States and Midwest, and is expected to strengthen relationships with local and strategic accounts in the construction and industrial sectors. The assets acquired with NES include almost $900 million of fleet based on original cost, 73 branch facilities concentrated in the eastern half of the United States, and approximately 1,100 employees.

Michael Kneeland, president and CEO of United Rentals, said, “We’re excited by the customer and investor benefits we’ve created through this combination, which leverages our technology, infrastructure and cross-selling capabilities. Most important, we’re gaining a great team that cares deeply about providing quality service and shares our intense focus on safety.”

Centerview Partners Holdings LP and Morgan Stanley acted as financial advisors to United Rentals, and Sullivan & Cromwell LLP acted as legal advisor. Catalyst Strategic Advisors, LLC and Deutsche Bank acted as financial advisors to NES, and Jenner & Block LLP acted as legal advisor.

United Rentals, based in Stamford, Conn., has an integrated network of 968 rental locations in 49 states and every Canadian province.

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.