SuttonBrook takes an interest in United Rentals

Faced with a deal that has fallen through, a large hedge fund said Tuesday it will be taking on an activist role at equipment rental company United Rentals Inc.
Last month, buyout shop Cerberus Capital Management LP, backed out of its planned $7 billion (including debt) acquisition of the Greenwich, Conn.-based equipment rental company. Since then United Rentals has filed a lawsuit seeking to pressure Cerberus to complete the deal.
Now, on Tuesday, SuttonBrook Capital Management LP reported with the Securities and Exchange Commission a 5.83% United Rentals stake and may consider a “extraordinary corporate transaction, such as a merger, reorganization or liquidation, involving the company or any of its subsidiaries,” among other options such as board changes or dividend policies. These are boiler plate comments, but indicate that SuttonBrook doesn’t plan to be a passive investor in United Rentals. “[SuttonBrook] review on a continuing basis the investment in the company,” the filing said. — Ron Orol