ARRI divests global rental arm to H2-backed leadership team

This divestiture marks a pivot toward pure-play hardware and software development for ARRI, removing the friction of competing directly with its own B2B manufacturing clients. For the broader production ecosystem, the emergence of a massive, independent rental player creates a more neutral market for rival manufacturers like Sony and RED to gain footprint. By shedding the capital-intensive inventory management of a global rental fleet, ARRI can accelerate its investment into high-margin areas like virtual production and cloud-based software tools. Watch for the rebranding of the rental entity as it looks to diversify its equipment fleet beyond ARRI-exclusive inventory to drive growth.

The divestiture follows a string of corporate realignments for the Munich-based company. In April 2026, entrepreneur Thomas Riedel, owner of Riedel Communications, acquired ARRI to integrate cinematic quality into live production workflows. This followed reported liquidity pressures and inventory challenges cited in 2023 financial filings, per Y.M.Cinema (August 2025). The rental market at large telah encountered headwinds; for example, Herc Holdings recently exited the space by selling its Cinelease arm after a significant drop in year-over-year rental revenue, per trade reports.

Strategic pruning of the ARRI portfolio also included the 2025 sale of its lighting subsidiary Claypaky to EK Inc., allowing the company to focus on its flagship ALEXA camera systems and LED lighting line. These moves come as the global camera rental service market is projected to reach approximately $3.19 billion by 2035, driven by a 6.8% CAGR and the rise of virtual production and high-end streaming originals, per Business Research Insights (June 2026). H2 Equity Partners, which focuses on mid-sized firms in the UK and Ireland, manages over £500 million in committed funding, positioning the new rental entity for expansion outside of ARRI's traditional hardware ecosystem.