H&E Equipment Services, Inc. and Neff Corporation announced that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement under which H&E Equipment Services will acquire Neff Corporation. Under the terms of the agreement, which has been unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both companies, H&E will pay $21.07 in cash per share of Neff common stock, for a total enterprise value of approximately $1.2 billion, including approximately $690 million of net debt. The per share merger consideration payable to Neff stockholders is subject to certain downward adjustments, not to exceed $0.44 per share, in the event that H&E incurs certain increased financing costs due to the transaction not being consummated on or prior to January 14, 2018. The transaction is expected to close in the late third quarter or early fourth quarter of 2017, and is subject to customary closing conditions including Hart-Scott-Rodino Act clearance.

John Engquist, H&E’s Chief Executive Officer, said, “This agreement accelerates our stated strategy to expand our footprint across the United States as we seek to penetrate and grow our business in strategic business segments. Further, this transaction will bring together what we believe to be two highly complementary businesses that share a commitment to addressing the increasingly complex equipment needs of our customers. Our broader geographic footprint and enhanced capabilities in strategic markets, coupled with complementary expertise across equipment categories, are expected to help us to achieve our growth goals. We look forward to welcoming Neff’s talented employee base to the H&E family, and to offering more coverage and capabilities to support our combined customer base.”

Graham Hood, Chief Executive Officer of Neff, commented, “We are looking forward to joining an industry leader who shares our core values, including our commitment to providing customers with best-in-class equipment services and solutions. Neff offers H&E a talented, experienced and knowledgeable employee base that we expect will continue to maintain and develop relationships with key customers and contribute to the combined company’s growth. I would like to thank our 1,160 employees across the country, who are the driving force behind our business."

Strategic Rationale

Scale – The acquisition will nearly double the number of H&E branches, from 78 to 147, within H&E’s existing footprint in the strategically important Gulf Coast, Mid-Atlantic, Southeast and West Coast regions. Both H&E’s and Neff’s customers will benefit from best-in-class practices and a wide range of equipment in more locations.

Fleet – As of March 31, 2017, the companies’ combined fleet totaled $2.2 billion based on original equipment cost (OEC) and consisted of 43,749 units. The addition of Neff’s fleet will be highly complementary to H&E’s concentration in aerial work platform equipment and the combined company will possess one of the largest earthmoving rental fleets in the industry. As of March 31, 2017, the earthmoving fleet of H&E and Neff on a combined OEC basis totaled $727 million and consisted of 8,736 units. The increased geographic expansion and density is expected to allow H&E to better position fleet to regional pockets of higher demand and improve overall utilization.

Increased Non-Residential Construction Penetration and End-User Market Diversification – The transaction is expected to increase H&E’s penetration in the non-residential construction market. With a significantly larger earthmoving fleet, we believe H&E will be well-positioned to gain from any future governmental infrastructure spending initiatives and will also have a broader exposure to new regional and local customers in the construction markets generally. H&E believes that the earthmoving segment is an under-penetrated segment that may afford enhanced growth opportunities.

Employees and Culture – Neff employees will bring significant industry expertise to H&E, where they will have the opportunity for further career development and advancement in the significantly larger combined company. Both companies share the same best-in-class commitment to customer service and safety.

Transaction Highlights

H&E estimates the acquisition will create $25 to $30 million of synergies annually related to corporate overhead, systems and operational efficiencies, as well as scale benefits for equipment purchases.

The acquisition of Neff is expected to generate in excess of $800 million of gross tax assets for H&E arising from a step-up in the basis of certain of Neff’s assets.

Wells Fargo Bank and affiliated entities have agreed to provide committed financing for the transaction, subject to customary conditions. The transaction is not subject to a financing condition. Private investment funds managed by Wayzata Investment Partners LLC holding approximately 62.7% of the outstanding common shares of Neff have executed a written consent to approve the transaction, thereby providing the required stockholder approval for the transaction.

The merger agreement includes a “go-shop” period which runs through August 20, 2017 during which the special committee of Neff’s board of directors, with the assistance of its financial and legal advisors, may solicit alternative proposals to acquire Neff. There can be no assurance that this process will result in receipt of a superior offer or that any other transactions will be approved or consummated.

Wells Fargo Securities, LLC acted as financial advisor to H&E and Dechert LLP acted as H&E's legal advisor. Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. and Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP served as advisors to the special committee of Neff’s board of directors.