South African Woodworking equipment distributor Austro last week agreed to acquire three rental companies, Generator Hire, the Neptune Group and Gearing Moss, for about 130.5 million Rand (about $19 million).

The largest of the three firms is Generator Hire, which rents diesel-powered generators to the construction and mining industries, as well as other commercial businesses. Austro will pay 70 million Rand for Generator Hire.

Austro will pay 30.5 million Rand for the Neptune Group, an industrial generators rental company operating primarily in the Western Cape region. It will also pay 30 million Rand for Gearing Moss, which specializes in renting and selling tooling, mobile sawmills and small-log processing equipment.

The acquisition is subject to customer competition-authority approval.