Hyde Park Completes Essex Crane Acquisition

November 3, 2008 – Hyde Park Acquisition Corp. has completed its acquisition of Essex Holdings LLC and its subsidiary, Essex Crane Rental Corp. The transaction was completed after Hyde Park's shareholders voted to approve the acquisition at a special meeting last week. In conjunction with the acquisition, Hyde Park changed its name to Essex Rental Corp.

“We appreciate the support of the shareholders of Hyde Park and are looking forward to Essex’s future as a public company,” said Ron Schad, Essex’s president and CEO, in a BusinessWeek report. “We are focused on building long-term value for our shareholders, and intend to pursue a variety of organic and acquisition-driven growth opportunities.”

 

Schad said the company will continue to reposition its crane rental fleet towards higher lifting-capacity equipment, which has historically produced higher monthly average rental rates and higher utilization rates. “We are excited about the pace of new contract-related activity, the addition of new equipment to the fleet, and the continued strength of Essex’s end markets, including infrastructure and energy, and look forward to our future with confidence.”

 

Laurence Levy, chairman of Hyde Park, remains chairman of Essex Rental Corp. Hyde Park, as Essex Rental Corp., is seeking to transfer the listing of its securities from the Over-The Counter Bulletin Board to the NASDAQ Capital Market as soon as possible.