Lely’s Agricultural and Turfcare businesses has split and a new trading company, Turfcare Technologies Limited, formed – which immediately prompted a take-over bid from a Dutch-based conglomerate.
Speaking to TurfPro, David Cole, managing director of Turfcare Technologies, says the rationale behind the business separation was to create two independent businesses, each having the freedom to develop their own strategies and able to focus on growth in their own and respective markets.
“This process of evolution, places the turfcare business, including turfcare in Ireland and Denmark, in an ideal structure for future growth” he says.
He added that although the ag and turfcare businesses were now clearly split, there were no plans to move the new company away from its present base at St Neots where they will still share common facilities such as warehousing and some back-office facilities.
“The planning and implementation for Turfcare Technologies had started during the middle of 2015, but formally came into effect at 1 January 2016” he says.
It was during this period when an approach was received from Netherlands-based, Royal Reesink N.V. for Turfcare Technologies. The proposal is that the new company become part of the Royal Reesink holding company, which specialises in the distribution and sale of capital equipment and allied support services. Based in Apeldoorn, the group had a turnover of 473 million Euro in 2014.
There are 19 companies in the Reesink group, including Jean Heybroek and Belgium based Packo N.V, Toro and TYM tractor distributors in the Benelux region of Europe. Jean Heybroek has enjoyed a business relationship with Toro for 60 years, with the same strong legacy that Lely has enjoyed as a Toro partner of some 32 years.
As a result, Lely and Reesink, with the full support of the Toro Company has signed a Letter of Intent for Reesink to acquire the Lely Turf business which has an annual turnover of 60 million Euro and 125 staff according to a press release issued by Royal Reesink.
David Cole confirms this announcement is one of mutual intent to reach agreement for the change in the ownership of the Turf business. “While not finalised yet, this is seen as a further, positive opportunity for the future of the company’s Turf activity. The ‘agreement of intent’ with Reesink will now move to the final stages of a due diligence and is expected to be completed during the summer.
There are no indications that the deal between Lely and Reesink will have any impact on the Toro-owned Hayter operation at Spellbrook.
“The split and creation of Turf Technologies” says David Cole “can only strengthen and focus resources on the different and specialist needs of the agricultural and turfcare markets” added David Cole.
