Canada-based Ritchie Bros Auctioneers announced it will buy IronPlanet, a private company based in the United States but operating globally, for around US$758.5 million. IronPlanet was set up in 1999 and focuses on the needs of corporate accounts, equipment manufacturers, dealers and government entities in equipment disposition solutions. The company conducts its sales primarily through online-only platforms, with weekly online auctions and in other equipment marketplaces.
Sunward is keen to further develop its dealership coverage within Europe, which the firm sees as being crucial to increasing its sales. The company is already present in the European market and is actively boosting its profile, as Dr He Qinghua, chairman of the Sunward Equipment Group and also director of the company’s research and development centre, explained. He said, “We have some dealers in Europe and we are planning to enlarge the number of them.”
