Herc Holdings Completes Acquisition of H&E Equipment Services
Herc Holdings Inc., one of North America’s leading equipment rental suppliers, today announced it has completed its acquisition of H&E Equipment Services Inc. d/b/a H&E Rentals.
“The acquisition of H&E accelerates Herc’s proven strategy and strengthens our position as a premier rental company in North America,” said Larry Silber, Herc Rentals’ president and CEO. “The addition of H&E’s network and capabilities provides Herc with a leading presence in 11 of the top 20 rental regions, a larger fleet that provides our customers with a range of specialty and general rental products, and a talented team who shares our focus on excellence in customer service and safety. We are excited to realize the substantial upside ahead for industry leading growth and superior value creation.”
Under the terms of the merger agreement, Herc Rentals acquired all of the issued and outstanding shares of H&E’s common stock for, on a per share basis, $78.75 in cash and 0.1287 shares of Herc Rentals common stock. With the completion of the transaction, shares of H&E common stock have ceased trading and will no longer be listed on the NASDAQ.
Guggenheim Securities LLC served as lead financial advisor. Credit Agricole Securities (USA) Inc served as co-financial advisor, and Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank served as lead financing bank. Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP served as legal advisor. Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher served as strategic communications advisor.
Herc Holdings Inc. now has 613 locations across North America and pro forma 2024 total revenues were $5.1 billion.
Benefits of the acquisition
Herc said the combination of Herc Rentals and H&E accelerates its current strategies and brings together more than 120 years of industry experience from two strong companies with complementary cultures and a shared commitment to safety.
“Together, we will have a substantially expanded footprint, greater density in key markets, a larger and broader fleet and industry-leading technology, all of which strengthen our position as a premier equipment rental company in North America,” Herc said in a statement.
Herc added that customers will benefit from more access to equipment, approximately $10 billion at original equipment cost. The company will provide broader coverage as it grows from 450 locations to more than 600, enabling faster equipment delivery and quicker project and service support. Ongoing enhancements will include ProControl by Herc Rental, a fleet management tool, providing customers with real-time analytics, equipment utilization data, easy bill payments, alerts and more.
Prior to this transaction, Herc Rentals had completed more than 50 acquisitions in the past five years.
Herc Rentals, headquartered in Bonita Springs, Fla., is No. 3 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.