Neff Rental, Miami, in mid-May reached agreement with its creditors to restructure its balance sheet through a prearranged reorganization under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code in New York to deleverage the company’s balance sheet and eliminate more than $400 million of debt. Neff has obtained full commitments from its existing revolving lenders to provide a $175 million debtor in posssession and exit financing and has secured support from other key stakeholders. “The filing of the company’s Chapter 11 plan culminates the process that the company undertook several months ago to reduce debt and puts the company on sound long-term financial footing,” said Graham Hood, Neff’s CEO. “The restructuring will provide liquidity for ongoing business needs and allow Neff to make significant investments in its rental equipment fleet. It is business as usual while we move forward to address our capital structure.”

Finning International, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, has sold Hewden, its U.K., equipment rental business for gross proceeds of about $171 million to an affiliate of Sun European Partners, the European adviser to Sun Capital Partners. “After a comprehensive review, we have determined that for strategic and financial reasons, it is in our shareholders’ best interest to divest Hewden,” said Mike Waites, Finning International’s president and CEO. “While we believe that Hewden’s broad product offering combined with our recent restructuring and national accounts focus will serve it well in the future, owning a larger, short-term rental business operating separately from our U.K. dealership does not align with our strategic objectives. Finning remains fully committed to the U.K. Caterpillar dealership and its employees, who are strongly positioned to serve the construction, mining and power systems markets,” he said.

The Charles Machine Works, Perry, Okla., manufacturer of Ditch Witch® underground construction equipment, has acquired 100 percent ownership of HammerHead Trenchless Equipment manufactured by Earth Tool Co., Oconomowoc, Wis. Earth Tool Co. is now a wholly owned subsidiary of The Charles Machine Works. “We plan to fully leverage HammerHead’s products and expertise to strengthen our position in the water and sewer rehabilitation markets globally,” said Tiffany Sewell-Howard, The Charles Machine Works CEO. HammerHead designs and manufacturers piercing tools, bursting systems, pneumatic hammers and horizontal directional drill tooling.

The Toro Co., Bloomington, Minn., has added stump grinders, wood chippers and log splitters to its lineup of products offered to the rental market through a deal to acquire certain product lines from USPraxis, Sycamore, Ill. To complement the acquisition of these product lines, Toro also acquired and will provide a tip and blade sharpening service that offers a cost-effective way for rental stores to ensure their equipment is in optimum operating condition. Moving forward, USPraxis products will be marketed under the Toro brand and sold through Toro’s compact utility equipment distribution channel in the United States and international markets.

Japan’s Sumitomo Construction Machinery Co.’s U.S. subsidiary, S.C.M., is now the sole owner of LBX Co., Lexington, Ky., which manufactures tracked excavators and timber loaders under the Link-Belt name. Sumitomo acquired the remaining 50 percent of the company in early May from CNH Global N.V., Burr Ridge, Ill. The price and terms of the deal were not disclosed. CNH said it a written statement that the sale will allow the company to concentrate more on its own brands of construction equipment, including Case, New Holland and Kobelco.