U.S.-based farm and construction firm Deere & Co. plans to buy privately held German road construction company Wirtgen Group, a German maker of road-construction equipment, for €4.6 billion ($5.2 billion).
“The acquisition of the Wirtgen Group aligns with our long-term strategy to expand in both of John Deere’s global growth businesses of agriculture and construction,” said Samuel Allen, Deere chairman and chief executive, in a statement.
Deere plans to keep Wirtgen’s existing brands, management and distribution network, and the deal has been approved by the board of directors. Wirtgen manufactures equipment for the road construction industry under five brand names, including Hamm, Vogele and Wirtgen. It reported sales of €2.53 billion ($2.8 billion) last year and has about 8,000 employees.
The acquisition will not see any product overlap and is expected to close in first quarter 2018. Deere plans to hold a conference call for investors regarding the acquisition.