Potential buyers close in on BauRent

German rental company BauRent Baumaschinen Miet-Service is close to being sold by its Japanese owner Itochu Corp, IRN understands.

A bidding process for the company has been underway for several months, with as many as seven potential buyers still involved in October. These suitors are thought to have included German construction equipment dealers as well as many of the bigger European rental companies.

BauRent is one of the largest general equipment rental companies in Germany, with annual revenues in the €35-45 million range and with 29 depots throughout Germany. It is headquartered in Dusseldorf.

A spokesman for BauRent declined to comment when contacted by IRN.

The interest in Germany's rental market was illustrated earlier this year when Cramo acquired Munich-based Theisen Baumaschinen. There are many potential buyers of BauRent: both Loxam and Boels already have rental operations in the country, although in each case these are relatively small. Baurent would give both a much larger platform for growth.

In addition, acquiring Baurent would provide a meaningful rental business for the many large equipment dealers in Germany, or strengthen the existing rental businesses of Hamburg-based HKL Baumaschinen.

Itochi, which has owned BauRent since 1994, is a Tokyo-based trading company with diverse interests and around 130 offices in 68 countries. One of its subsidiaries is Multiquip, the US manufacturer and distributor of compaction equipment, portable power and site lighting products.