Cerberus to buy United Rentals for $4 billion

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Equipment rental company United Rentals Inc. (URI.N) said on Monday it had accepted a $4 billion takeover bid from private equity fund Cerberus Capital Management LP.

The deal is worth $34.50 per share, which represents a 6.6 percent premium to the company's closing price on Friday. It also includes $2.6 billion in debt, bringing the total value to $6.6 billion.

Under the terms of the deal with the United Rentals, which claims to be the largest equipment rental company in the world, may continue to solicit other bids through August 31.

On April 10, United Rentals said it was exploring options, including a possible sale, sending its shares up more than 17 percent to $32.36. It closed a penny higher on Friday.

United Rentals' board of directors has approved the takeover, which still requires shareholder approval.

Affiliates of Apollo Management LP, which own about 18 of the voting power of United Rentals' stock, have agreed to vote their shares in favor of the deal.

The Greenwich, Connecticut-based company was advised by UBS Investment Bank.

United Rentals, with more than 690 rental locations in 48 states, Canada and Mexico, rents everything from backhoes and excavators for demolition work to welders and generators needed for pipe fabrication.

Cerberus, which is in the process of acquiring Chrysler Group in a $7.4 billion deal, is not the only private equity fund to show interest in the rental sector. In October, Swedish compressor and machinery maker Atlas Copco agreed to sell most of its U.S. equipment rental business to Ripplewood Holdings and Oak Hill Capital Management.