URI United Rentals

NEW YORK, Jan. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- On November 21, 2007, Abbey Spanier Rodd & Abrams, LLP ("Abbey Spanier") commenced a Class Action lawsuit in the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut on behalf of a class (the "Class") of all persons who purchased or acquired securities of United Rentals, Inc. ("URI" or the "Company") (NYSE:URI) between August 29, 2007 through and including November 14, 2007 inclusive (the "Class Period"). The Complaint alleges that the defendants violated the federal securities laws by failing to disclose that, several weeks after URI and Cerberus Capital Management, L.P. ("Cerberus") had signed a merger agreement (the "Merger Agreement"), Cerberus contacted URI management and expressed its concern about its ability to proceed with the Merger given the changes in the credit and financial markets, on which its financing for the deal depended. It was not until November 14, 2007, when the Company filed a Form 8-K that included letters, dated August 31, 2007 and September 6, 2007 which demonstrated that the Merger had been at risk since August 29, 2007, and that Cerberus sought to renegotiate the terms of the Merger Agreement. Defendants' failure to disclose this information materially mislead investors and caused the market for URI's shares to trade at prices artificially inflated by the belief that the Merger would proceed. Had the August correspondence between Ceberus and URI been disclosed to the public in the Proxy, URI's shareholders would have been alerted to the risk of the transaction not going forward. On November 14, 2007, URI publicly announced that Cerberus had informed the Company that Cerberus was not prepared to proceed with the purchase of URI on the terms set forth in the Merger Agreement. On this news, the Company posted its biggest drop since it went public in 1997 and plunged 31%, or $10.51, from $34.01 per share to a closing price of $23.50 per share. On November 19, 2007, URI announced that it had filed a lawsuit against RAM Holdings, Inc. and RAM Acquisition Corp., (the acquisition vehicles formed by Cerberus to acquire URI). The lawsuit was filed in the Delaware Court of Chancery, whereby Cerberus was seeking to compel the Cerberus acquisition vehicles to complete the agreed-upon Merger Agreement. On December 21, 2007, Delaware Chancery Court Judge William B. Chandler III ruled that URI and certain of its officers and directors knew or should have known that Cerberus believed they had a right to pull out of the Merger Agreement at any time as long as Cerberus paid a $100 million fee to URI. As a result of the Delaware Court's decision, on December 24, 2007, URI requested that Cerberus pay URI the $100 million termination fee required by the Merger Agreement. Plaintiff seeks to recover damages on behalf of all those who purchased or otherwise acquired URI securities during the Class Period. If you purchased or otherwise acquired URI securities during the Class Period, and either lost money on the transaction or still hold the securities, you may wish to join in the action to serve as lead plaintiff. If you purchased URI securities during the Class Period, you may, no later than January 21, 2008 request that the Court appoint you as lead plaintiff. The attorneys at Abbey Spanier have extensive experience in securities class action cases, and have played lead roles in major cases resulting in the recovery of hundreds of billions of dollars to investors. If you would like to discuss this action or if you have any questions concerning this Notice or your rights as a potential class member or lead plaintiff, you may contact: CONTACT: Nancy Kaboolian, Esq. or Susan Lee Abbey Spanier Rodd & Abrams, LLP 212 East 39th Street New York, New York 10016 (212) 889-3700 (800) 889-3701 (Toll Free) Or e-mail them at or DATASOURCE: Abbey Spanier Rodd & Abrams, LLP CONTACT: Nancy Kaboolian, Esq., or Susan Lee, +1-212-889-3700, +1-800-889-3701, both of Abbey Spanier Rodd & Abrams, LLP Web Site: http://www.abbeygardy.com/

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