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Finning International, through a new wholly owned, U.K.-based subsidiary, has reached agreement with the board of directors of Hewden Stuart on the terms of a recommended cash offer for all of the issued and to be issued share capital of Hewden Stuart, the largest rental company in the United Kingdom. The offer will be for 115 pence in cash for each Hewden Stuart share, valuing the existing issued share capital of Hewden Stuart at about £322 million ($483 million at an exchange rate of £1=$1.50), based on 280.3 million shares outstanding.
Hewden Stuart, a leader in the United Kingdom for equipment rental and related services, has about 370 locations throughout Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland and more than 4,000 employees. The company offers a modern range of equipment to a variety of industry sectors in the general hire, tool hire and lifting hire markets. For the year ended Jan. 31, 2000, Hewden Stuart reported revenue from continuing operations of £256 million ($384 million) and operating profit from continuing operations of £42.8 million ($64.2 million).
According to the release, the acquisition of Hewden Stuart is consistent with Finning’s growth strategy to expand its operations internationally and to diversify through the addition of new product lines and entry into the small equipment rental market. The equipment rental business of Hewden Stuart is a highly complementary business to the equipment sales business of Finning in the U.K.
“Through Finning’s long-established U.K. presence, we know that customers require a variety of distribution channels to meet all their needs,” said Douglas Whitehead, Finning president and chief executive officer. “Our offer will combine Finning’s international equipment sales business and Hewden Stuart’s market-leading small equipment rental business, to enable us to provide more comprehensive services to a wider customer base through both channels.
“We believe that Hewden Stuart’s strong national network, its excellent employees, its modern fleet and its recognized brand name will enable us to achieve solid growth and create superior shareholder value.”
“This offer by Finning represents a major step forward for Hewden Stuart, its shareholders, customers and employees,” said Sir John Robb, chairman of Hewden Stuart. “We have concluded, having reviewed a number of options, that the cash price of 115 pence represents good value for Hewden Stuart’s shareholders and reflects the company’s strong market position in the U.K. Customers and employees will benefit from access to the extensive resources and international backing which Finning will bring to Hewden Stuart.”
It is anticipated that the acquisition of Hewden Stuart will be accretive to earnings in the first year of operations.
Finning sells, rents, finances and services Caterpillar equipment and complementary equipment in Western Canada, Britain and Chile. The corporation’s head office is in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Finning is a widely held, publicly traded corporation, which is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (symbol FTT). In 1999, Finning reported consolidated revenue of Cdn $2.23 billion ($1.49 billion) and net income of Cdn $59.6 ($39.8 million) million. |
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United Rentals, Greenwich, Conn., has submitted a proposal to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Neff Corp., Miami, held by the public at an exchange ratio of 0.18 shares of United Rentals for each share of the company, subject to the satisfaction of certain terms and conditions. Neff’s board of directors has established a special committee of independent directors to consider the proposal.
Neff Corp. operates 84 locations in 17 states and has annual revenues of about $260 million.
United operates 740 locations. |
| RentalSite develops Web sites for construction and event markets
Equipmentrental.com, a Web site serving the construction, industrial and contractor equipment industry, has been developed by
RentalSite.
The site features industry links, mini Web sites from suppliers, new product shopping, used product listings, a review of current press releases from companies in the industry, discussion forums and a searchable database of industry-specific job opportunities.
The company also has a Web site for the special events industry at
www.specialeventsite.com.
VISTA releases Spanish-English construction dictionary
VISTA, a training company in Burlington, Wis., recently released a Spanish-English shirt-pocket-size booklet filled with common words for the construction and mining industries.
VISTA creates highly focused safety and skills training materials for users of heavy equipment. For more information, call (800) 942-2886 or visit the Web site at www.vista-start-smart.com. |
