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Sunbelt to acquire NationsRent for $1.05 billion

Sunbelt Rentals Inc., a subsidiary of Ashtead Group plc, and NationsRent Companies Inc. recently made a joint announcement that Sunbelt will acquire NationsRent in a transaction valued at approximately $1.05 billion. Following the closing of the transaction, it's expected that the combined company will rank

as the third largest United States equipment rental company by 2005 revenues, with 477 locations in 35 states, employing approximately 7,000 associates.

George Burnett, chief executive officer of Ashtead, said, "The merger of NationsRent with Sunbelt uniquely creates a chain of 477 outlets with minimal overlap and accelerates our ‘clustering' strategy that has delivered consistent profitable growth over the past few years. NationsRent and Sunbelt have similar rental fleets both in age and in mix and through the combination of these businesses we believe we will enjoy benefits of scale in both customer service and buying power."

Jeff Putman, chief executive officer of NationsRent, said, "This transaction with Sunbelt represents an excellent opportunity for our employees and stockholders. The NationsRent employees will be joining a company that is performing at the top of our industry with strong revenue and operating cash flow growth. For the stockholders of NationsRent, the transaction will allow them to realize an attractive return generated by the growth of the company over the past three years."

Chief Executive Officer and President of Sunbelt, Cliff Miller, said, "This transaction will immediately extend the reach of the combined companies to eight additional states. The two companies also have very different specialty operations which are complementary rather than redundant, such as NationsRent's Lowe's retail-based program and its expanding dealership network along with Sunbelt's pump, power and scaffolding operations. The combined company will feature a rental fleet base of approximately $2.2 billion of original cost."