Mills buys suspended access rental company

Brazilian rental company Mills Estruturas e Serviços de Engenharia has acquired suspended access rental company GP Andaimes Sul Locadora Ltda (GP Sul) for R$ 5.5 million (€2.4 million).

GP Sul is a privately owned company located in Porto Alegre that rents suspended scaffolding to the residential and commercial construction sectors in the state of Rio Grande do Sul.

In 2010, GP Sul's revenues were R$2.0 million (€0.88 million).

Mills said the acquisition would make it the leader in the suspended scaffold rental market in the state and "broaden our exposure to the residential and commercial construction market in the South region".

GP Sul will become part of Mills' Jahu - Residential and Commercial Construction division.

Mills will invest R$1.1 billion (€484 million) over the period 2010-2012 to expand throughout Brazil and to meet growing demand from the Brazilian infrastructure and real estate sectors.

This demand, said Mills, is driven by the expansion in home loans and house building programs and by investments for the 2014 World Cup, the 2016 Olympics Games and in the oil and gas industry.

The Mills rental division will receive a third of that investment in 2011, representing R$128.9 million (€56.7 million). Total spending in 2011 will be R$400 million (€176 million).