Volvo considering sale of Volvo Rents, reports Bloomberg

Bloomberg News has reported that Volvo is considering the sale of its North American equipment rental business, Volvo Rents, citing two people who were familiar with the potential sale.

A Volvo AB spokesperson told IRN that the company did not comment on media speculation. Senior managers at Volvo Rents were unavailable for comment.

Volvo Rents, which has 130 owned and franchised locations in North America, was originally launched by Volvo Construction Equipment but since April 2011 has been operating as a stand-alone subsidiary of Volvo AB.

According to the report, the business could be valued in the US$1 billion to $1.5 billion range.

The company began by establishing a franchise operation in North America. Over the past two years, however, it has switched its strategy and is now acquiring many of these original franchisees as well as buying small independent rental stories throughout North America.

It has made more than 50 acquisitions in the past two years.