SPRINGFIELD, Mass. -- Taylor Rental Corp., the largest U.S. franchiser of rental equipment, merged with Stanley Works Friday, one day after Taylor shareholders overwhelmingly approved the merger.
More than 99 percent of the 850,000 proxies held by Taylor were voted in favor of the measure at the company's final meeting Thursday at its headquarters in Springfield.
Directors of Stanley Works, based in New Britain, Conn., already have approved the merger plan.
Under the merger, Taylor shareholders will receive 0.465 of a Stanley Works share, with fractions in cash for each Taylor share. For the merger, Taylor shares were valued at $10.87 apiece and Stanley Works shares at $23.375. Those figures reflect the value of Stanley shares on March 1, the day before the tentative merger agreement.
Taylor, which has 560 centers, has recorded losses in recent years. Stanley is a leader in the hand tools and home improvements manufacturing market.
