AGCO Corporation has announced it has entered into a Joint Venture (JV) with Trimble where 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.
The JV creates a global leading mixed-fleet Precision Ag platform that will be the exclusive provider of Trimble Ag’s comprehensive technology offering, supporting the future development and distribution of next-generation Ag technologies. Trimble Ag offers a wide variety of user-friendly technologies compatible across brands, equipment models and farm types. Its hardware, software solutions and cloud-based applications span all aspects of the crop cycle, from land preparation to planting and seeding to harvest.
“This landmark transaction creates a JV that becomes the premier mixed-fleet Precision Ag business in the world and accelerates AGCO’s strategic transformation,” said Eric Hansotia, AGCO’s chairman, and CEO. “This deal significantly enhances AGCO’s technology stack with disruptive technologies that cover every aspect of the crop cycle, which ultimately helps us better serve farmers no matter what brand they use.”
The JV will complement and enhance AGCO’s existing Precision Ag portfolio to deliver even more industry leading solutions across the crop cycle while supporting over 10,000 equipment models. By combining these two Precision Ag portfolios and leveraging multi-channel access across Trimble Ag, AGCO OEM & Aftermarket, other OEMs, and Precision Planting dealers, the JV will be positioned to drive outsized growth and better provide next-generation technologies to even more farmers around the world.
Hansotia continued, “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. All of these touchpoints will result in us being even more farmer focused.”
Commercial synergies resulting from direct access to AGCO’s global OEM, aftermarket, other OEM, and retrofit channels, in addition to modest run-rate cost synergies are expected to approximately double the JV’s EBITDA by year 5 post closing.
“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.”
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.
