STAMFORD, Conn. – October 22, 2018 – United Rentals, Inc. (NYSE: URI) (“United Rentals”) today announced that United Rentals of Canada, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of the company, has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the assets of WesternOne Rentals & Sales LP (“WesternOne”) from parent WesternOne Inc. for approximately $91.8 million (CA$120.0 million) in cash.[*] The transaction is expected to close before year-end subject to approval by the shareholders of WesternOne Inc. and certain other customary conditions. It is not contingent on financing, and is not expected to have a material impact on the revenues or earnings of United Rentals.
WesternOne is a leading regional equipment rental provider of aerial lifts and heat solutions in Western Canada, with additional offerings of temporary power, general construction equipment and fuel delivery. The company’s 12 locations and approximately 330 employees serve primarily non-residential construction and industrial customers in Alberta, British Columbia and Manitoba, with a notable presence in the sports and entertainment vertical. Additional information about the company is available at westernone.ca.
Michael Kneeland, chief executive officer of United Rentals, said, “The acquisition of WesternOne Rentals & Sales will expand both our general rental and specialty offerings in key Canadian provinces. 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.”
Kneeland continued, “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.”
About United Rentals
United Rentals, Inc. is the largest equipment rental company in the world. The company has an integrated network of 1,075 rental locations in North America and 11 in Europe. In North America, the company operates in 49 states and every Canadian province. The company’s approximately 16,700 employees serve construction and industrial customers, utilities, municipalities, homeowners and others. The company offers approximately 3,800 classes of equipment for rent with a total original cost of $12.9 billion. United Rentals is a member of the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, the Barron’s 400 Index and the Russell 3000 Index® and is headquartered in Stamford, Conn. Additional information about United Rentals is available at unitedrentals.com.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, known as the PSLRA. Forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth in the statements. These statements are based on current plans, estimates and projections, and, therefore, you should not place undue reliance on them. No forward-looking statement, including the updated financial outlook set forth above and any such statement concerning the completion and anticipated benefits of the proposed transaction, can be guaranteed, and actual results may differ materially from those projected. United Rentals undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Forward-looking statements are not historical facts, but rather are based on current expectations, estimates, assumptions and projections about the business and future financial results of the equipment rental industries, and other legal, regulatory and economic developments. We use words such as “anticipates,” “believes,” “plans,” “expects,” “projects,” “future,” “intends,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “could,” “estimates,” “predicts,” “potential,” “continue,” “guidance” and similar expressions to identify these forward-looking statements that are intended to be covered by the safe harbor provisions of the PSLRA. Actual results could differ materially from the results contemplated by these forward-looking statements due to a number of factors, including, but not limited to, those described in the SEC reports filed by United Rentals, as well as the possibility that (1) United Rentals and/or WesternOne may be unable to obtain shareholder and other third party approvals required for the proposed transaction or United Rentals may be required to accept conditions that could reduce the anticipated benefits of the acquisition as a condition to obtaining any necessary regulatory approvals; (2) the length of time necessary to consummate the proposed transaction may be longer than anticipated; (3) problems may arise in successfully integrating the businesses of United Rentals and WesternOne, including, without limitation, problems associated with the potential loss of any key employees of WesternOne; (4) the proposed transaction may involve unexpected costs, including, without limitation, the exposure to any unrecorded liabilities or unidentified issues that we failed to discover during the due diligence investigation of WesternOne or that are not covered by insurance, as well as potential unfavorable accounting treatment and unexpected increases in taxes; (5) our business may suffer as a result of uncertainty surrounding the proposed transaction, any adverse effects on our ability to maintain relationships with customers, employees and suppliers, or the inherent risk associated with entering a geographic area or line of business in which we have no or limited experience; and (6) the industry may be subject to future risks that are described in the “Risk Factors” section of the Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and other documents filed from time to time with the SEC by United Rentals. United Rentals gives no assurance that it will achieve its expectations and does not assume any responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of the forward-looking statements.
The foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive. You should carefully consider the foregoing factors and the other risks and uncertainties that affect the business of United Rentals described in the “Risk Factors” section of the Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and other documents filed from time to time with the SEC. All forward-looking statements included in this document are based upon information available to United Rentals on the date hereof; and United Rentals assumes no obligations to update or revise any such forward-looking statements.
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Contact:
Ted Grace
(203) 618-7122
Cell: (203) 399-8951
[*]The purchase price was determined in Canadian dollars and is converted to U.S. dollars in this document using a rate of 0.764839%.