United Rentals Finalizes Acquisition of BakerCorp for $715 Million
United Rentals has completed its previously announced acquisition of BakerCorp International Holdings for a total purchase price of approximately $715 million. The transaction was funded through a combination of cash and available capacity on the company’s senior secured asset-based revolving credit facility.
BakerCorp is a leading multinational provider of tank, pump, filtration and trench shoring rental solutions for a broad range of industrial and construction applications. With the acquisition, United Rentals substantially augments its bundled solutions for fluid storage, transfer and treatment; expands its strategic account base; and gains a significant opportunity to increase revenue and enhance customer service by cross-selling to its broader customer base. The BakerCorp acquisition adds about 25,000 units of fleet, 46 branches in North America and 11 in Europe, plus adds about 950 employees to United Rentals footprint.
For the trailing 12 months ended May 31, 2018, BakerCorp generated $79 million of adjusted EBITDA at a 26.9 percent margin on $295 million of total revenue.
“The Baker acquisition is a highly strategic move on our part to grow our Specialty segment," said Michael Kneeland, CEO of United Rentals. “Our expanded expertise in fluid solutions will benefit our customers and build long-term value for our investors. Today we welcomed almost a thousand top-notch colleagues as the first step in the integration.”
The company has updated its 2018 guidance to reflect the BakerCorp acquisition. The new guidance includes $140 million of total revenue, $40 million of adjusted EBITDA and $50 million of gross capital spending, reflecting the ancipated impact of the acquisition on the company’s full-year results.
The company’s previous outlook for total revenue was in the range from $7.5 billion to $7.7 billion, now the company is expecting total revenue in the range of $7.64 billion to $7.84 billion. Adjusted EBITDA was in the range of $3.675 billion to $3.775 billion; United now expects a range from $3.715 billion to $3.815 billion.
Centerview Partners acted as financial advisor to United Rentals, and Sullivan & Cromwell acted as legal advisor. Morgan Stanley acted as financial advisor to BakerCorp with Fried Frank as legal advisor.
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.