Ritchie Bros. buys equipment data provider Rouse Services

Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers will acquire Rouse Services for approximately $275 million.

“Rouse offers a highly complementary suite of data and service products that will continue and accelerate our evolution from an auction company to a global, trusted marketplace and provider of services,” says Ann Fandozzi, Ritchie CEO.

“Rouse brings a strong reputation within the industrial equipment industry for their data integrity, reliability, and strict confidentiality, and we look forward to continuing to build on these core values in the next chapter of their growth,” Fandozzi continues. “By working together, we will be able to help customers better understand used equipment trends and how to use them to optimize fleet management decisions.”

Rouse provides data intelligence and performance benchmarking solutions that help customers make better decisions, says Ritchie. Its subscription-based revenue is generated by three Data-as-a-service (DaaS) solutions: rental analytics, equipment sales support, and fleet appraisals. It has approximately 60 employees and will continue to operate as-is and maintain its physical presence in Los Angeles, California for the foreseeable future.

“I am personally very excited to join the Ritchie Bros. executive team,” said Gary McArdle, Rouse executive vice president and COO. “We have spent decades building our reputation as a trusted partner in the industrial equipment industry. Opportunities to better serve our clients have always directed our growth, and by joining with Ritchie Bros., we see tremendous potential to build on our foundation and deliver even more value to our industry partners.”

Rouse Services currently has three divisions: appraisals, sales and analytics. Rouse Appraisals provides lenders with fleet valuations to support asset-based loans. Rouse Sales provides rental companies, contractors, and dealers with the market intelligence and software they need to optimize the used equipment sales process. Rouse Analytics provides rental companies with monthly comparisons of pricing and key performance metrics to local market industry benchmarks.

Rouse traces its lineage back to Max Rouse & Sons, an auction and liquidation firm. In a recent overview on its website, Rouse said it tracks $55 billion in equipment fleet value, $24 billion in rental revenue, and $14 billion in sales transaction data annually.  In addition, it has more than 170 clients in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.

Under the terms of the transaction, Ritchie Bros. will acquire 100% of the equity of Rouse Services for approximately US$250 million in cash and approximately $25 million in common stock of Ritchie Bros., subject to adjustment.