Seven and Carlyle to retain Coates Hire

Seven Group and Carlyle said they will retain ownership of Coates Hire following the strategic review of the business.

The owners, who each own around 46% of Coates, said that they “remain fully committed to the business and continuing to grow” Coates Hire. The strategic review was begun in November last year.

The statement by Seven Holdings gave no reasons for the decision not to sell the business. Companies in Australia, Japan and Malaysia had been named in the financial press as potential buyers.

Coates is the largest rental company in Australia and Asia and was ranked fifth in the world in the recent IRN100 list, with revenues last year of €987 million.

In addition to its core business in Australia Coates also has smaller operations in Indonesia and in the UK, where is has a specialist oil and gas rental business.