United Rentals Acquires H&E Equipment Services for $4.8B

Deal expands already large United Rentals footprint in the equipment rental market

The acquisition brings H&E's considerable rental market footprint into the United Rentals business.

Photo courtesy United Rentals

United Rentals Inc., announced Jan. 14 it will acquire H&E Equipment Services for $92 per share in cash, reflecting a total enterprise value of about $4.8 billion, including about $1.4 billion of debt.

All 2,900 employees and the $2.9-billion rental fleet of Baton Rouge, La.-based H&E Equipment Services—located across 160 branches in 30 states—is included in the deal, which is expected to close in the first quarter of this year.

"In H&E we’re acquiring a well-run operation that’s primed to benefit from our technology, operations and broad value proposition," said Matthew Flannery, CEO of Stamford, Conn.-based United Rentals. "Most importantly, we’re gaining a great team that shares our intense focus on safety and customer service."

Both companies' boards approved the transaction.

"I’m extremely proud of what we’ve built at H&E over the last 60 years and am confident that our combination with United Rentals will take the business to new heights going forward." said CEO Bradley W. Barber.

ENR Associate Technology, Equipment and Products Editor Jeff Yoders has been writing about design and construction innovations for 20 years. He is a five-time Jesse H. Neal award winner and multiple ASBPE winner for his tech coverage. Jeff previously wrote about construction technology for Structural Engineer, CE News and Building Design + Construction. He also wrote about materials prices, construction procurement and estimation for MetalMiner.com. He lives in Chicago, the birthplace of the skyscraper, where the pace of innovation never leaves him without a story to chase.

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