08.01.2015

New rental company consolidator?

Rental Equipment Investment Corporation, a new holding company established by Kevin Fitzgerald of KCE Capital - chief executive of Neff Rentals between 1995 and 2000 - and several other investors, have purchased the assets and certain liabilities of Midway Rental & Power Equipment of Kalispell, Montana.

Midway was founded in 1978 and has been owned by Kent & Kurt Reimer since 1994. The company operates from four locations in Montana, Kalispell, Whitefish, Great Falls and Shelby and offers a wide range of equipment, including aerial lifts and telehandlers.

Vertikal Comment

Fitzgerald has spent the past eight years or so in the financial sector, having been president of Southern Trust Securities Holdings. He started his career with Deloitte Touche, but graduated in electrical engineering. We understand that Rental Equipment Investment includes a number of private investors and that Wessex Capital Partners of Toronto has a stake.

While the company has not issued any statement - as far as we are aware - it looks as though it has been set up to acquire businesses such as Midway in order to form a new regional or national operator. With the economic cycle on the up, this would of course be an opportune time to launch such a venture.