NES Rentals Completes Sale to Affiliates of Diamond Castle Holdings, LLC; Transaction valued at approximately $850 million

CHICAGO--July 21, 2006--NES Rentals Holdings, Inc., one of the largest aerial and general equipment rental and traffic safety service providers in the country, announced today the completion of the sale of the company to affiliates of Diamond Castle Holdings, LLC, a private equity firm. Diamond Castle has purchased all of the outstanding shares of common stock for $18.75 per share. Including the repayment and assumption of certain outstanding liabilities, the transaction has a total value of approximately $850 million.

"This has been a positive process for all of NES Rentals' stakeholders, including our shareholders, employees, and customers," said Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Andrew Studdert. "We are excited about partnering with Diamond Castle as we embark on this next stage of our Company's history. We will now have the necessary resources to take advantage of the numerous growth opportunities that lie ahead."

"Our primary goal has always been to be a reliable partner for our customers," Studdert said. "We have made significant investments in our fleet, having invested almost $300 million in new equipment since 2004, and have increased our emphasis on equipment maintenance, reliability and enhanced customer service. Meeting our customers' needs will continue to be our number one priority going forward."

Ari Benacerraf, co-founder and Senior Managing Director of Diamond Castle, said, "We are delighted to be partnering with NES Rentals, a company with a strong competitive position in a highly attractive segment of the general rental equipment industry."

"We look forward to working with NES Rentals' talented management team as they continue to profitably grow the business, improve operational efficiencies, and execute their strategic plan," added David Wittels, co-founder and Senior Managing Director of Diamond Castle.

Diamond Castle plans to retain NES Rentals' company name and management team. Studdert will continue in his capacity as Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board.

One of the largest companies in the country's $29 billion equipment rental industry, NES Rentals focuses primarily on aerial equipment, although each of the 120 branches houses equipment that specializes in meeting localized needs. Several branches in the Southeast and Gulf Coast regions offer mobile and liquid storage services and were able to provide critical equipment to the recovery effort following Hurricanes Rita and Katrina.

About NES Rentals Holdings, Inc.

NES Rentals Holdings, Inc. is one of the largest companies in the $29 billion equipment rental industry. The company focuses on renting specialty and general equipment to industrial and construction end-users. It rents more than 750 types of machinery and equipment, and distributes new equipment for nationally recognized original equipment manufacturers. NES Rentals also sells used equipment as well as complementary parts, supplies and merchandise, and provides repair and maintenance services to its customers. In addition to the rental business, NES Rentals is the second largest supplier of traffic and safety services to the construction industry. The company is a leading competitor in many of the geographic markets it reaches from its approximately 120 locations in 34 states. For more information on NES Rentals, visit www.nesrentals.com.

About Diamond Castle Holdings, LLC

Diamond Castle Holdings, LLC is a private equity investment firm founded in 2004 by Larry Schloss, the former Global Head of CSFB Private Equity and Chairman of DLJ Merchant Banking Partners, and four former managing directors of DLJ Merchant Banking. Diamond Castle has 22 employees located in New York and focuses on investments in the power, financial services, media and telecom, healthcare, and industrial sectors. For more information on Diamond Castle Holdings, visit www.diamondcastleholdings.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Except for the historical information and discussions contained herein, statements contained in this release may constitute forward-looking statements that invoke known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those projected in forward-looking statements made by, or on behalf of, us. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as "may," "will," "should," "expects," "plans," "anticipates," "believes," "estimates," "predicts," "potential," "continue," "projects," "intends," "prospects," "priorities," or the negative of such terms or similar terminology.