20:32 ET - Alongside United Rentals' (URI) 4Q results came an announcement that it plans to acquire competitor NES from Diamond Castle Holdings for $965M. Chicago-based NES has 73 branches and 1,100 employees, concentrated mostly in the eastern half of the US; United Rental has 887 locations in 49 state and some 12,500 workers. The deal is seen boosting URI's 2017 earnings as it's "acquiring a well-run operation that's primed to benefit from our technology, infrastructure and cross-selling capabilities," says URI CEO Michael Kneeland. Its stock jumped 8.7% after-hours to $124.20, which would put shares above 2014's record high. URI had been already up 8.2% this month. (robert.tita@wsj.com)
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 25, 2017 20:32 ET (01:32 GMT)
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