Ritchie Bros. acquires tech company SmartEquip for $175M

Ritchie Bros. acquired tech company SmartEquip for $175 million

Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers announced this week the acquisition of parts and service technology company SmartEquip for $175 million to enable better customer and partner experience, accelerate the auctioneer company’s strategy and deepen inventory management system (IMS) connectivity.

“This acquisition furthers the goal of providing the best experience for our customers as we continue our transition from a traditional auctioneer to a marketplace for insights, services and transaction solutions for commercial assets,” said Ritchie Bros. CEO Ann Fandozzi. “SmartEquip will enable us to offer asset-specific, full-lifecycle parts and service support on behalf of our dealer and OEM partners to our buyers.”

According to the company’s release, the deal’s completion is pending customary closing conditions, including the expiration or termination of the applicable waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as amended.

SmartEquip, which supports approximately $1 billion in annual transaction volume with more than 600 OEM brands in North America, Europe and Asia, is a platform that provides its customers with real-time service and diagnostic support, dynamically customized, via serial number, to each asset in their fleet, as well as enabling the electronic procurement of parts from OEMs and their dealers.

The company has 60 employees who will continue to operate as a standalone business and maintain its physical presence in Connecticut for the foreseeable future, the release said.

“Ritchie Bros. is a perfect partner for us, with over 60 years of experience and a global footprint,” said Bryan Rich, SmartEquip’s Executive Chairman. “Through their global customer base, this merger will accelerate SmartEquip’s ability to support its rapidly growing footprint across our joint global marketplaces and engaged customer base. At closing, the existing SmartEquip team, including all senior management, will transition over and participate in the next growth stage of the SmartEquip network.”

According to Ritchie Bros., the combination of the auction house and SmartEquip will enable and accelerate the adoption of parts and service sales on behalf of their dealer and OEM partners by providing a seamless experience for end users.

In addition, the acquisition of SmartEquip will deepen IMS connectivity and will further enable digital solutions at scale around inspections and ancillary services, while enabling better optimization of search and advertising revenue streams, Ritchie Bros. said.

It’s been a busy 2021 for Ritchie Bros., which sold almost $100 million of equipment at its largest-ever pipeline construction auction in August.