United Rentals makes $1.1bn acquisition
05 March 2024
United Rentals is to acquire the Yak temporary matting business from its private equity owner for US$1.1 billion.
The deal includes Yak Access, Yak Mat and New South Access & Environmental Solutions, which together rent a fleet of 600,000 wood and composite protection mats to customers in construction and utilities.
Yak rents wood and composite ground mats to customers in utilities and construction. (Photo: Yak Mat Facebook)
Yak, which is being sold by private equity business Platinum Equity, had revenues of $353 million in 2023 and EBITDA profits of $171 million. The purchase price represents a 6.4 multiple of EBITDA for 2023.
United said the deal - which is expected to close in the first quarter - will create a new component of its specialty rental business “with scale in a large and growing segment” and provide cross-selling opportunities. It added that Yak shared “cultural similarities… and a strong focus on safety.”
Yak is headquartered in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, and operates from 135 distribution points in more than 40 US States.
The deal will give a significant boost to United’s specialty segment, which last year reported revenues of $3.26 billion out of the $14.3 billion total.
Matthew Flannery, president and chief executive officer of United Rentals, said, “Our acquisition of Yak further diversifies and differentiates United Rentals’ Specialty business offerings while also driving shareholder returns.
“This newly created ‘Matting Solutions’ business will create another adjacency for our company with scale in a large and growing market segment. In addition to its attractive profile across growth, margins and returns, this combination builds upon our power vertical strategy, where significant investment in generation, transmission and distribution is expected over the next several decades.”
Frank Bardonaro, CEO of Yak, said, “Yak is excited to accelerate its business potential as part of United Rentals. This combination will benefit both our customers and existing employees as our established expertise in access solutions complements the broader value proposition United Rentals offers.
“I’m proud of the leading company we built and am happy we found a great partner for the next chapter.”
Jacob Kotzubei, co-president of Platinum Equity and Matthew Louie, managing director, Platinum Equity, said in a joint statement: “Over the past six years we worked with the Yak team to transform the business and are proud that it is now a stronger and more resilient company ready for the next chapter. United Rentals is an outstanding partner and a great long-term fit for Yak going forward.”
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