Hertz Entertainment Services has acquired Cinelease, U.S. market leader in lighting and grip rentals to the television industry, based in Los Angeles.

“With the acquisition of Cinelease, Hertz Entertainment Services becomes the leading provider of lighting and grip rentals to the U.S. television industry, which is one of the fastest growing segments of our economy,” said Mark Frissora, Hertz chairman and CEO. “Cinelease aligns with Hertz’s growth and diversification strategy to meet the equipment rental needs of a broad range of leading industries. The acquisition expands our footprint in another specialty rental market with higher revenue growth and margins, longer rentals and lower seasonal cyclicality. Cinelease will add at least 3 percent of incremental, inorganic revenue growth to our global equipment rental revenues in 2012, and is both accretive to earnings and cash flow-positive in year one. Additionally, Cinelease will accelerate the growth of our Entertainment Services business because Hertz is uniquely able to bundle a wide variety of products for film and television production companies, from lights, grip, generators, cranes and lifts to the widest selection of rental cars in the industry. Cinelease complements the earlier acquisitions of First Call and 24/7 which also provide rental equipment, including aerial and forklifts, to the entertainment industry.”

Lighting and grip rental revenues generated by the U.S. television and motion picture industry are estimated at $600 million annually. It is anticipated that Cinelease will deliver about $50 million of new revenues during 2012 as the company is integrated into Hertz Entertainment Services.

Cinelease operates from seven locations in Atlanta; Austin, Texas; Charlotte, N.C.; Chicago; Dallas; New Orleans and Santa Fe, N.M.