United Rentals Acquires U-Rent-It

Oct. 7, 2008, Greenwich, Conn.-based United Rentals last week
acquired Portland U-Rent-It Inc., U-Rent-It, a three-location
equipment rental company. Terms of the transaction were not released.

Corpus
Christi, Texas-based Portland U-Rent-It, which has two locations in
Corpus Christi and one in nearby Portland, Texas, posts annual sales of
roughly $11 million renting industrial equipment to the Gulf Coast’s
energy industry. Former U-Rent-It owners included J-Ray Simpson, Bart
Nelms and Norm Clapp. Founded in 1977, U-Rent-It has benefited from
rapid growth in the past year stemming from increased demand from
energy-related customers, such as refineries in the Gulf region.

“The
acquisition of U-Rent-It is consistent with our strategic focus on the
industrial marketplace,” said Michael Kneeland, CEO of the Greenwich,
Conn.-based United Rentals. “We are actively pursuing growth in
industrial rentals, where our depth of resources and branch footprint
can give us a competitive advantage. Moreover, industrial rentals are
subject to different cyclical pressures than the construction market,
where we are seeing demand continue to soften as spending is curtailed.”

Hageman,
Stansberry & Associates represented U-Rent-It in the transaction.
“Hageman, Stansberry & Associates worked extremely hard to get our
deal done and we are very pleased with the outcome,” said Simpson. “We
appreciate their efforts and would recommend their services to any
rental company that is considering selling."

Hageman, Stansberry
& Associates is a mergers and acquisitions firm that specializes
strictly in the equipment rental and special event rental industry.
HS&A is based in Arlington, Texas and Cameron Park, Calif.