United Rentals, the largest equipment rental company in the world, agreed to acquire Yak Access, Yak Mat and New South Access & Environmental Solutions (collectively, Yak) from Platinum Equity for $1.1 billion in cash.
Yak is one of the largest matting providers of ground protection and temporary roadway solutions in the United States. The company serves powerline and pipeline customers, industrials, renewables and other infrastructure-related industries.
S&C previously advised United Rentals in several transactions, including its $2 billion acquisition of Ahern Rentals in 2022; its $996 million acquisition of General Finance in 2021; and its $715 million acquisition of BakerCorp and $2.1 billion acquisition of BlueLine Rental, both in 2018.
The S&C team advising United Rentals includes Frank Aquila, Julia Kim, Phil Sandridge, Nicole Jiang and Charlotte Lindsay. Neal McKnight, Joyce Kwok and Emilie Klovning are advising on financing matters. Jameson Lloyd and Stephen Profeta are advising on tax matters. Heather Coleman, Rebecca Rabinowitz and Lilian Zhao are advising on executive compensation and benefits matters. Mehdi Ansari, Grace Son, Robert Lu and Angela Wu are advising on intellectual property matters. Bob Downes and Katya Roze are advising on capital markets matters. Steven Holley, Eric Queen and Bradley Smith are advising on antitrust matters. Matt Brennan is advising on environmental matters. Nick Menillo is advising on D&O insurance matters.