United completes BlueLine acquisition

United Rentals, Inc. has completed its previously announced acquisition of BlueLine Rental from Platinum Equity for $2.1 billion in cash. The company used a combination of newly issued debt and bank borrowings to fund the transaction and related expenses.

The acquisition expands United Rentals’ equipment rental capacity in many of the largest metropolitan areas in North America, including both U.S. coasts, the Gulf South and Ontario. The company gains a well-diversified customer base with a balanced mix of commercial construction and industrial accounts, over 46,000 rental assets, 114 branch locations and approximately 1,700 employees.

Michael Kneeland, chief executive officer of United Rentals, said, “We’re excited to welcome BlueLine to the United Rentals family, and we’re confident that the strategic and financial merits of the acquisition will benefit our customers, shareholders and employees. Moreover, we look forward to leveraging our extensive integration capabilities to ensure that we generate the greatest value from combining our companies. Together, our enhanced scale and operating efficiencies reinforce our leadership position in the North American market and support our focus on driving long-term value creation.”

Louis Samson, partner at Platinum Equity, said, “The combination with United Rentals is the optimal conclusion to our BlueLine investment. We’re extremely pleased with this transaction and the opportunities created for the BlueLine team and customers. It’s fitting that their next phase of growth will be with the industry leader.”

The company updated its full year 2018 guidance to reflect the expected impact of the acquisition. It’s prior outlook for total revenue this year was $7.7 billion to $7.87 billion. The current outlook is now at $7.89 billion to $7.99 billion.