AGCO TO ACQUIRE LELY FORAGE DIV
Deal to be completed by end of year
AGCO announced this week that it has reached agreement in principle to acquire the forage division of Lely Group.
Lely’s forage division is a leading manufacturer of balers and loader wagons in Europe.
The transaction is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2017. Furthermore, say AGCO, the process for employee consultation will now be started.
Martin Richenhagen, AGCO’s Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer said in a statement, "The integration of Lely’s industry leading competence in hay and forage technology will further strengthen AGCO’s full line product offering."
However, the Irish Farmers Journal has reported that the sale to AGCO will have an effect on jobs at Lely, including the 95 employees in the Netherlands involved in production of the forage machines. Their report says that production is expected to cease from 31 March 2018. They say employees will temporarily be seconded to AGCO Corporation before this date, but from 1 April 2018, their jobs will be at risk, with a solution sought for their future inside or outside the company.
Moreover, says the report, 100 people working in Lely’s head office in Maassluis, Holland, will lose their jobs, as will 100 people working in the company outside the Netherlands. Concurrently, 300 people will move from Lely to AGCO, bringing Lely’s total number of employees down to approximately 1,300.
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