Brandt Tractor has bought British Columbia dealer Coast Tractor & Equipment to become one of the largest privately owned sellers of John Deere equipment in the world.

Both companies sell John Deere backhoes, graders, forklifts and excavators.

The purchase, finalised this month, includes Coast Tractor & Equipment's 14 locations throughout British Columbia and expands Brandt's operations into the one part of Western Canada where it was not previously represented.

Brandt president Shaun Semple would not reveal the purchase price in a Regina Leader-Post article, but said the timing was right for Brandt to buy into the British Columbia market.

Mr Semple said the acquisition would boost Brandt's CAN450 million (USD288.37 million) annual sales by one third, and add 220 employees to the Brandt group's 800-strong workforce.