12.07.2022

Alta moves into Canada

US rental group Alta Equipment has agreed the acquisition of Canadian forklift dealer Yale Industrial Trucks, which operates from four locations in south east Canada: Burlington, London and Woodbridge in Ontario and Montreal, Quebec.

Headquartered in Woodbridge, Ontario, Yale Industrial was founded in 1972, and had revenues of around $46.6 million for the 12 months to the end of May. It employs around 140 of which 75 are service technicians. While the precise details of the deal have not been disclosed, the amount paid gives the acquired business an estimated enterprise value of $33.5 million, although that will be subject to post-closing purchase price adjustments.

Alta chief executive Ryan Greenawalt said: “The Yale acquisition is consistent with our growth strategy, which includes expanding into new markets which offer substantial opportunities to increase the scale of our business. This acquisition extends our operations into an international market for the first time and bridges our existing US territories. It will benefit our material handling business as Quebec and Ontario represent approximately 80 percent of the market opportunity in Canada, and the greater Toronto area is one of the top five industrial distribution markets in North America. Culturally, they have a rich 50 year history of providing outstanding service to customers in the Canadian market which fits with our focus. We are pleased to welcome YIT to the Alta family.”

The deal is expected to close over the next few months.

This acquisition follows a number of such deals that Alta has made over the past 18 months or so, the most recent being Ohio based Gibson Machinery last September. The company now operates from around 60 locations across Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, New England, New York, Virginia, Florida, and Ohio, with Canada coming shortly.