Stamford's United Rentals To Acquire Construction Company For $1.1B

STAMFORD, CT — Stamford-based United Rentals, considered the largest equipment rental company in the world, announced this week it has agreed to acquire the construction company Yak Access from Platinum Equity for $1.1 billion.

The cash deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2024, United Rentals said.

Yak is one of the largest matting providers of ground protection and temporary roadway solutions in the United States. The company has a fleet of approximately 600,000 hardwood, softwood, and composite mats providing surface protection across both construction and maintenance, repair and operations applications.

Yak has an integrated network of more than 135 distribution points and operates in over 40 states, the announcement from United Rentals said. The company primarily serves powerline and pipeline customers, industrials, renewables, and other infrastructure-related industries.

"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," said United Rentals President and CEO Matthew Flannery in an announcement.

"Yak meets the strategic, financial and cultural criteria we aim for in acquisitions. We expect this new line of business to augment our specialty offerings as we continue to execute on our strategy of further differentiating ourselves by providing one-stop shop capabilities for our customers," Flannery added. "We look forward to welcoming our new team members to the United Rentals family."

Yak CEO Frank Bardonaro said the company is "excited to accelerate its business potential" with 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," Bardonaro said. "I’m proud of the leading company we built and am happy we found a great partner for the next chapter."

United Rentals expects to use a combination of new debt financing and existing capacity under its ABL (Asset-Based Lending) facility to fund the transaction and related expenses.

United Rentals is headquartered at 100 First Stamford Place.