Ritchie Bros. to sell former 40-acre Houston site in unreserved public auction

Prime industrial and residential land close to downtown Houston up for grabs to the highest bidders

HOUSTON, Feb. 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers (NYSE and TSX: RBA), the world's largest industrial auctioneer, is selling its former 40+/- -acre auction site just off the I-10 East Highway during an upcoming two-day unreserved public equipment auction at the Company's new Houston permanent auction site (15500 Eastex Freeway) in Humble from March 24 to March 25 starting at 8:00 a.m. each day. The land will be sold on Wednesday, March 24, at noon to the highest bidder-regardless of price.

"This is a great opportunity for buyers to purchase prime industrial land for fair market value. The property is located within the Houston beltway close to downtown and situated off a major freeway," said Alan McVicker, Regional Manager for Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers. "There's no better way to demonstrate the value of our unreserved auction process than applying it to the sale of our former Houston auction site. Since there is no preset price for this property, it will be the bidding crowd that determines the final price of the land on auction day. Every bidder will have equal opportunity to place a bid and be successful in purchasing this one-of-a-kind piece of property."

Ritchie Bros. started conducting unreserved auctions at its former 40+/- -acre Houston auction site in 1992 but needed additional space to accommodate larger equipment and truck auctions. In February 2009, the Company moved to its new 130+/- -acre Houston permanent auction site located at 15500 Eastex Freeway. The former 40+/- -acre auction site, located at 14218 I-10 East Highway, is within easy access to major transportation routes and within very close proximity to major Houston ports. The property will be sold as four different parcels of land:

    Parcel A - 19.4+/- acres of commercial industrial land with an
    11,000-square foot metal building located at 14214 East Freeway

    Parcel B - 19.7+/- acres of commercial industrial land with a
    44,800-square foot metal building featuring an office and warehouse
    located at 14214 East Freeway

    Parcel C - A 10,550+/- -square foot residential property located at
    1328 Redmond Street

    Parcel D - A 31,650+/- -square foot residential property located at
    1436 Redmond Street

Bidders can place bids on one or all parcels of land during the auction. A 1 percent real estate administration fee will be added to the final winning bid price and included on the Agreement of Purchase and Sale.

In addition to the real estate property, the two-day unreserved auction will feature a large selection of pipeline equipment, crawler and rough terrain cranes, loader backhoes, crawler tractors, hydraulic excavators, wheel loaders, compaction machinery, forklifts and transportation equipment. New items will also be added to the sale right through to auction day. Interested buyers can inspect, test and compare equipment at the auction site. Every item in the auction, including the property, will be sold "as is, where is" with no minimum bids or reserve prices.

HOW TO BID

There are three ways to bid on the real estate properties and equipment items at the Houston auction:

    1.  Attend the Houston auction in person at 15500 Eastex Freeway, Humble,
        Texas 77396.

    2.  Bid online in real time over the internet using the Company's online
        bidding service available at www.rbauction.com/onlinebidding.

    3.  Place a proxy bid. Ritchie Bros. will bid during the auction on your
        behalf, up to and including the maximum bid you have given.

    FORMER RITCHIE BROS. LOCATION:

    -   For more information about the Houston industrial property, including
        additional documents, information about the area and information
        about how to register and participate at the unreserved auction,
        visit
        http://www.rbauction.com/property/2009000_houston_tx/property.jsp or
        contact Ellen Engelsbel at +1.778.331.5427 or
        [email protected]

About Ritchie Bros.

Established in 1958, Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers (NYSE and TSX: RBA) is the world's largest industrial auctioneer, selling more equipment to on-site and online bidders than any other company in the world. The Company has over 110 locations in more than 25 countries, including 41 auction sites worldwide. Ritchie Bros. sells, through unreserved public auctions, a broad range of used and unused industrial assets, including equipment, trucks and other assets utilized in the construction, transportation, agricultural, material handling, mining, forestry, petroleum and marine industries. The Company maintains a web site at www.rbauction.com and sponsors an equipment wiki at www.RitchieWiki.com.

SOURCE Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers