The speed of expansion is remarkable: in January, the British auction house Bonhams bought its Swedish competitor Bukowskis, thereby not only securing access to customers in the European Union, but also making the competitor's high online presence its own.
Now Bonhams has followed suit, acquiring Skinner, a mid-sized Massachusetts-based auction house, and Copenhagen-based house Bruun Rasmussen for undisclosed purchase prices.
Ursula Scheer
Editor in the Feuilleton.
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Bonhams is now even better positioned globally and digitally.
This year's acquisitions follow the purchase of The Market 2021, a London-based online auction platform specializing in collectible cars with operations in the UK, Europe and the US.
Bonhams dates back to Georgian times;
Today's company was formed in 2001 through a merger of Bonhams & Brooks and Phillips Son & Neale.
The medium-sized company Bruun Rasmussen was founded in Copenhagen in 1948 and is the leading Danish auction house.
Under the new ownership structure, current CEO, Jakob Dupont, will continue to lead the house's operations. Skinner was founded in 1962 by a New England art dealer and has offices in Boston and Marlborough.
Bonhams' strategy is to focus on the middle price segment, with a focus on selling collectibles, jewelry and cars, away from the three major competitors Sotheby's, Christie's and Phillips.