United Rentals Acquires Western Canada’s WesternOne Rentals & Sales
United Rentals has continued its acquisition spree with a definitive agreement to acquire the assets of WesternOne Rentals & Sales from parent company Vancouver, B.C., Canada-based WesternOne Inc. for approximately $91.8 million in cash. The transaction is expected to close before year-end subject to approval by the shareholders of WesternOne Inc. and other customary conditions. The transaction is not expected to have a material impact on the revenues or earnings of United Rentals.
WesternOne is an equipment rental company that provides aerial lifts and heating solutions in Western Canada, with additional offerings of temporary power, general construction equipment and fuel delivery. WesternOne has 12 locations about 330 employees. It primarily serves non-residential construction and industrial customers in Alberta, British Columbia and Manitoba, with a notable presence in sports and entertainment.
“The acquisition of WesternOne Rental & Sales will expand both our general rental and specialty offerings in key Canadian provinces,” said Michael Kneeland United Rentals CEO. “WesternOne’s aerial and portable heat rentals dovetail with our own range for construction and industrial customers. We’ll also gain scale and diversification in two areas: the sports and entertainment vertical, with a focus on film and television production, and a comprehensive propane and diesel fuel service.
“In addition, the combination directly aligns with our vision for customer service. We particularly like the fact that WesternOne’s culture focuses on people and innovation. In addition to cross-selling our equipment and services, we’ll be able to give our combined customer base the benefit of new expertise and a larger pool of shared technology. We look forward to welcoming WesternOne employees to United Rentals.”
Since April 2017, United Rentals has acquired NES Rentals, Neff Corp., BakerCorp, BlueLine Rental and now WesternOne. United, based in Stamford, Conn., is No. 1 on the RER 100. WesternOne Rentals & Sales is No. 59.
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.