Volvo AB is exploring the sale of Volvo Rents, according to bloomberg.com. Quoting anonymous sources, Bloomberg said the company may be worth between $1 billion and $1.5 billion. The sources said the business has attracted interest from private-equity firms as well as companies.
Volvo Rents officials contacted by RER said they could not comment on the report.
The Bloomberg article said Volvo is exiting peripheral businesses and in July agreed to sell its aircraft-engine unit Volvo Aero for about $954 million. The article said that a $910 million plan to buy a 45-percent stake in the truck unit of Chinese manufacturer Dongfeng Motor Group would help it overtake Daimler in worldwide commercial-vehicle sales.
During the past two years, Volvo Rents has grown dramatically by acquiring its franchise stores and a number of independent rental companies, growing its equipment rental network to more than 130 branches. With $333 million in rental volume in 2012 and $526 million in total volume, Volvo Rents, based in Shippensburg, Pa., is No. 7 on the RER 100, up from No. 21 the previous year.
