Trimble to offload bulk of ag assets to AGCO for $2B
WESTMINSTER — Industrial technology company Trimble Inc. (Nasdaq: TRMB) and AGCO Corp. (NYSE: AGCO) are forming a joint venture that will see the Georgia-based agricultural machinery manufacturer acquire 85% of Trimble’s agricultural asset and technology portfolio for $2 billion.
AGCO’s brands include Valtra, Massey Ferguson and Fendt. When the joint venture is finalized next year, the company will be the exclusive provider of Trimble ag products, the firms announced in news releases Thursday. The deal does not include Trimble’s navigation, satellite and guidance technology.
“Farmers today are looking for mixed fleet solutions across their tractors and the implements that they use to most efficiently and sustainably feed the world. We believe a joint venture with AGCO, complemented by the successful mixed fleet approach that they have developed with their Precision Planting business model, can help us better serve farmers and original equipment manufacturers together,” Trimble CEO Rob Painter said in the news release.. “Trimble has a rich history of forming and cultivating joint ventures with industry leaders such as Caterpillar, Nikon and Hilti and we are excited about this opportunity with AGCO and its family of leading brands. We look forward to beginning a new chapter with AGCO to bring precision agriculture to both the factory and to the aftermarket.”
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Offloading most of Trimble’s ag assets “streamlines (the company’s) portfolio and increases (its) focus on priority growth areas,” the release said.
The joint venture will result in more than “$1.5 billion in net proceeds after tax” for Trimble, the company said, which will be “used to repay $1.1 billion in debt and repurchase shares.”
The AGCO deal comes in the same year that Trimble completed a $2 billion takeover of German transportation-logistics software company Transporeon.
Last year, Trimble consolidated operations from Boulder and Englewood into its Westminster campus, located at 10368 Westmoor Drive in the Westmoor Technology Park. That campus is now the company’s corporate headquarters.
The Westminster hub, which houses 1,000 of Trimble’s employees, includes agriculture, construction and geospatial market segments. Trimble has not said what the future holds for its ag employees after the joint venture is completed.
