Gilbert + Tobin has advised Sime Darby on its AUD 635m acquisition of Onsite Rental Group Limited (Onsite), a market leading provider of business to business equipment rental solutions to blue chip customers across a range of industries in the Australian market including resources, energy, industrial and commercial.

Onsite employs more than 500 people through a network of over 30 branches across Australia providing dry hire solutions and industry leading “Digital Rental Management” solutions. It has a large and diverse fleet of over 60,000 assets and complements Sime Darby’s existing businesses by providing geographic expansion to position Sime Darby’s industrial division in high growth areas in the Australian market.

G+T has advised Sime Darby on a number of acquisitions, including its recent acquisition of leading provider of rental and maintenance services, Salmon Earthmoving, which has been servicing clients in the civil construction, agricultural and mining sectors for over 70 years.

The G+T team was led by Corporate Advisory partner Adam Laura, with support from lawyers Thomas Riley, Srivatsav Moorthy and Daisy Cullen. The corporate team was also supported by specialists throughout the firm.

Adam said “Sime Darby and its Australian industrial division (including Hastings Deering), is doing great things in the Australian market.  We feel very fortunate to be able to assist their growth ambitions, and the strength of execution capability shown by the local Sime Darby team places them extremely well within the competitive M&A landscape they face. It is always a pleasure working with them and this deal in particular, is a fantastic result for the local business.”