Leading Australian equipment rental provider Coates Hire has reached an agreement to acquire Tru Blu Hire, owned by Western Australian businessman David Harders. The purchase is pending approval by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.

Coates Hire, the largest equipment rental company in Australia, is 46-percent owned by publicly traded National Hire Group, which recently raised its net profit forecast for the 2010-11 year to about AU $26.5 million (about U.S. $27.5 million). The forecast is an increase from its previously announced range of $20 million to $25 million.