25.11.2005

Ashtead settle with H&E

The Ashtead Group has announced that Head & Engquist Equipment and Sunbelt Rentals Inc. have agreed to settle their outstanding litigation.

Under the terms of the settlement agreement, H&E has agreed to pay Sunbelt the sum of $20,133,972.60 by Monday 28 November in full settlement of the North Carolina Court’s original judgement in Sunbelts favour.

The litigation dates back to 2000, just prior to Sunbelt's acquisition of BET USA, when H&E executed a plan to develop its aerial work platform rental business by raiding over 100 staff from the BPS division of BET, in order to open competing rental stores in seven major markets served by BPS.

The funds will credited to the Group’s income statement for the year ending 30 April 2006 as an exceptional item and will be applied to reduce borrowings under Ashtead’s asset based senior credit facility.

Head & Engquist. Is on target to exceed sales this year of $500 million and is headed by Gary Bagley, and John Engquist, the company is a long time Grove and Manitowoc dealer, based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

The company is well placed to benefit from the rebuild programmes in New Orleans and the Gulf coast, and recently acquired Eagle High Reach for $53 million.

Concurrent with this announcement H&E has today issued its prospectus on its IPO see H&E to sell shares Oct 17In order to fund the Eagle acquisition and pay down debt.