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Ashtead plc, the British parent company of Charlotte, N.C.-based Sunbelt Rentals plans to raise 130 million pounds, about $236 million U.S. dollars, by selling bonds after recent losses widened. The company’s stock fell 12 percent last week amid reports that it fired its auditor PricewaterhouseCoopers after the firm refused to reconfirm the accounts for the past three years.
Ashtead’s lenders have conditionally agreed to extend maturity on existing debt. The company expects to complete the bond issue by the end of this month. The company’s pretax loss for the nine months through January widened to 20.8 million pounds, about $38 million.
About 70 percent of Ashtead’s sales come from Sunbelt Rentals. The current weak dollar has hurt revenue when translated into U.K. currency. However, prospects for Sunbelt are brightening with an improving U.S. economy.
Sunbelt Rentals is No. 4 on the RER 100 with 199 branches in the United States.
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