Vancouver-based industrial auctioneer Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers (TSX:RBA; NYSE:RBA) announced May 9 that it spent US$64 million to buy Houston, Texas-based AssetNation Inc., an online marketplace for salvage assets and equipment.
Ritchie Bros. CEO Peter Blake said that his company's stature as the world's largest industrial auctioneer gives its executive team a strong understanding of how the world's equipment owners operate.
"We intend to leverage this market knowledge and the power of our brand not only to fuel the growth of AssetNation's business but also to develop additional solutions," said Blake.
He said he intends to expand Ritchie Bros' service offerings to provide a "transparent and efficient" way for the non-auction segment of the market to buy and sell equipment.
The news comes a week after the company revealed that both profit and sales are on the rise.
Ritchie Bros. increased revenue 14% to US$101.3 million in the first quarter compared with the same quarter in 2011. Its earnings increased 8.4% to US$18 million during the quarter compared with the year-ago quarter.
"We are fortunate to have a growing and profitable core business and we remain firmly committed to it," Blake said. "We see many years of strong growth in front of us for our flagship reserved auctions."
