Williams Scotsman completes acquisition

Williams Scotsman, a Baltimore-based company that rents office trailers, storage containers and other modular spaces, has completed its $1.2 billion acquisition of Pennsylvania-based competitor ModSpace. WillScot Corp., the parent of Williams Scotsman, announced the closing of the deal for Modular Space Holdings Inc. on Wednesday. The acquisition, Williams Scotsman’s third since December, is expected to double its revenue to over $1 billion a year and expand its geographic reach. It now manages more than 160,000 modular space and portable storage units from over120 locations across the United States, Canada and Mexico. “The combination of these two complementary companies creates the undis- puted leader of specialty rental services in North America,” said Brad Soultz, Williams Scotsman’s president and CEO, in a statement. The company financed the acquisition through a mix of proceeds from its recent equity and debt offerings and borrowings under a revolving credit facility. Williams Scotsman has been expanding its market share by acquiring competitors since two Hollywood executives used a public shell company to acquire the Baltimore company from its European parent for $1.1 billion. Founded in Baltimore in 1955, Williams Scotsman went public in 2005, before being acquired by Paris-based Algeco two years later. In December, Williams Scotsman acquired a local competitor, Acton Mobile, for $235 million, and, in January, acquired Tyson Onsite for an undisclosed amount. Shares of WillScot closed Wednesday at $15.78 each, down 18 cents in Nasdaq trading, before the closing of the acquisition was announced.