Equipment specialist, JOST, has announced two strategic acquisitions to bolster its agriculture product portfolio and regional reach.
JOST has agreed to acquire 100 per cent of the share capital of Taxi Brazil Holdings B.V., the Netherlands – the sole shareholder of Crenlo do Brasil Engenharia de Cabines LTDA (Crenlo Brazil) as well as another purchase agreement to acquire LH Lift Oy, Finland.
JOST is reported to gain immediate access to the Brazilian off-highway and agricultural machinery industry, one of the biggest agricultural markets worldwide, With the acquisition of Crenlo Brazil.
With LH Lift, JOST adds three-point linkage and hitches to its product portfolio, enhancing JOST’s offerings to agricultural customers.
Together, these two companies further strengthen JOST’s strategic position in the global agricultural machinery industry, increasing JOST’s value as an international supplier to agricultural OEMs.
Headquartered in Guaranésia, Brazil, Crenlo Brazil has been producing applications for the agricultural, mining, construction and forestry machinery industry in Brazil for over 23 years. It counts a wide range of major global blue-chip original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) active in Brazil among its customers.
Crenlo Brazil owns and operates a versatile, best-in-class manufacturing facility in the state of Minas Gerais, which offers promising operating leverage opportunities and will serve as the manufacturing backbone for JOST’s off-highway activities in the Southern hemisphere.
The experienced management team, with in-depth know-how and significant expertise in the Brazilian construction and agricultural machinery market, will remain part of the organisation after the acquisition, supporting JOST’s strategy to grow into the sizeable Brazilian off-highway and agricultural market, accelerating JOST’s profitable growth in the region.
Future synergies will result from JOST’s ability to leverage Crenlo Brazil’s engineering and production capabilities to manufacture and market its agricultural front loaders and implements as well as further agricultural products in Brazil.
LH Lift, a family-owned company, was founded in 1975 and is headquartered in Laukaa, Finland. It has production sites in Finland and China. The company supplies products to OEM tractor manufacturers in Europe, Asia and South America. The portfolio comprises three-point linkages and hitches as well as front linkages for tractors. LH Lift’s portfolio perfectly fits JOST offering to the agricultural tractor industry and can be scaled up significantly by leveraging the existing market presence of JOST Agriculture businesses. In addition to the sales synergies to be generated by using JOST’s wide distribution channels to market LH Lift’s products, JOST will be able to fully consolidate LH Lift’s production plant in Ningbo, China, into JOST’s already existing production facility in the same city.
“The acquisition of Crenlo do Brasil and LH Lift are key steps towards JOST’s strategic expansion in the agricultural machinery market,” said JOST CEO, Joachim Dürr.
“With these acquisitions and our investments into a new factory in Chennai, India, we significantly expand our global presence in South America and Asia and strengthen our market position in Europe.
“At the same time, we expand our product portfolio with new products with a significant growth potential worldwide. The two acquisitions will initially increase JOST’s consolidated sales by about EUR 100 million and bring additional opportunities to rapidly grow our off-highway business with new emerging cross-selling opportunities.
“Together, we will transform JOST into an even more attractive partner for agricultural OEMs, able to provide and service customers with a wide range of innovative products and systems worldwide, thus reducing the complexity of supply chains for our global customers.”
The integration of these two companies will generate additional synergies in manufacturing, product development and purchasing as well as in the joint commercialisation of products.
“Together with JOST, we will be able to significantly boost our market presence in Brazil, widening our current offerings to OEM customers and providing them with JOST’s market leading products,” said Crenlo do Brasil COO, Rafael Belardo Filho.
“My team and I look forward to this exciting opportunity to bring Crenlo do Brasil to the next level under JOST’s ownership.”
Timo Viiki and Eero Viiki, founders and owners of LH Lift, said: “JOST is an ideal industrial partner, who also has deeply entrenched contacts with OEMs just as we do. By bundling our know-how with JOST’s sales channels, we can reach even more customers and develop customised solutions that meet the special, unique requirements of agricultural professionals worldwide.”
The agreed purchase price for these businesses combined corresponds to an enterprise value of €56 million.
Crenlo do Brasil and LH Lift complement JOST not only strategically but also financially. For the fiscal year 2023, the two companies together are expected to generate sales revenues of about €100 million and an adjusted EBITDA between €10 million and €12 million.
The integration of Crenlo do Brasil and LH Lift into JOST’s group of consolidated companies is expected to take effect as of 1 September 2023.
In other news, JOST’s KKS automatic coupling system is now available for the Australian transport industry.