AGCO Corporation announced it has entered into a joint venture with Trimble in which AGCO will acquire an 85% interest in Trimble’s portfolio of ag assets and technologies for cash consideration of $2.0 billion and the contribution of JCA Technologies. AGCO says the joint venture creates a global mixed-fleet precision ag platform that will be the exclusive provider of Trimble Ag’s technology offering, supporting the future development and distribution of next-generation ag technologies.

Eric Hansotia, AGCO’s chairman, president and CEO, says the transaction accelerates AGCO’s strategic transformation and enhances the company’s technology stack. “The exclusive access to Trimble Ag products, combined with AGCO’s existing precision ag offerings, also accelerates AGCO’s growth ambitions around autonomy, precision spraying, connected farming, data management and sustainability,” he adds. “All of these touchpoints will result in us being even more farmer-focused."

The joint venture will complement and enhance AGCO’s existing precision ag portfolio, the company says, while supporting over 10,000 equipment models.

"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," said Rob Painter, CEO of Trimble. "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 OEMs together.” 

AGCO says commercial synergies resulting from direct access to its global OEM, aftermarket, other OEM and retrofit channels in addition to modest run-rate cost synergies are expected to approximately double the joint venture’s EBITDA by year 5 post-closing.

The $2.0 billion purchase price for AGCO’s 85% ownership in the Trimble Ag business represents an implied enterprise value of approximately $2.35 billion and implies a transaction multiple of approximately 13.8x based on 2023E EBITDA of approximately $170 million. Inclusive of estimated revenue and run-rate cost synergies of $100 million by year 3 and the net present value of tax attributes in excess of $50 million, the synergized multiple is approximately 8.5x on a 2023E basis.

The transaction is not subject to a financing condition. AGCO has secured $2.0 billion in fully committed bridge financing from Morgan Stanley Senior Funding, Inc. The purchase price of $2.0 billion is expected to be funded by a combination of existing liquidity, free cash flow generation and new debt.

Closing is expected in the first half of 2024, subject to the satisfaction of regulatory approval and customary closing conditions.

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