TORONTO — Cervus Equipment has purchased Peterbilt Ontario Truck Centres (POTC) for about $25.5 million and will rebrand its newly acquired dealerships, Cervus Equipment Peterbilt.

The Calgary-based company provides  industrial, commercial, agricultural and transportation equipment and has bought all 12 POTC across Ontario for about $25.5 million, subject to closing working capital adjustments.

“With the strength of the entire Cervus organization behind us, we will further enhance the Peterbilt and PACCAR offering in Ontario to meet the growing needs of our customers, employees, partners and home communities,” said David Climie, general manager of POTC.

With the acquisition, 308 employees will join Cervus Equipment from 12 dealerships and four support locations in areas such as Mississauga, Whitby, London, North Bay, Cardinal, Wroxeter, Norfolk, Waterloo, Haldimand, Woodstock, Windsor-Essex and Hamilton-Niagara.

“Over the past 34 years, Peterbilt Ontario has grown a strong business within the Ontario market, and we look forward to building on that growth with the entire Peterbilt Ontario team,” said Graham Drake, president and CEO of Cervus Equipment.

Cervus owns 55 industrial, commercial, agricultural and transportation equipment dealerships, including four Peterbilt dealerships in Saskatchewan. The company employs over 1,200 people throughout Western Canada, New Zealand and Australia.

The change in ownership is meant to be seamless to customers, employees, suppliers, partners and other stakeholders, the company claims.

“Peterbilt celebrates its 75^th anniversary this year,” Drake said. “We are honored to continue selling and servicing this world-class brand in Ontario with our new team. Our success will continue to be measured by the satisfaction of the people we work with every day, on the sales floor, in the shop and on the road.”