DULUTH, Ga., Nov 11, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) --
AGCO, Your Agriculture Company (NYSE:AGCO), a worldwide manufacturer and distributor of agricultural equipment, today announced that it has signed a letter of intent to form a joint venture with Amity Technology, LLC for the development and distribution of air seeding and tillage equipment. As part of the transaction, AGCO will acquire a 50% interest in selected air seeding and tillage product lines currently sold under the Amity, Wil-Rich and Wishek brand names. The resulting joint venture will be based in Fargo, North Dakota and will develop, manufacture and distribute products sold under its existing brand names as well as selected AGCO brand names in the future. The transaction is expected to close before the end of 2010.
"This latest agreement underlines AGCO's strategy to expand and improve its product offering to the professional farming sector worldwide," stated Martin Richenhagen, AGCO's Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer. "Amity, Wil-Rich and Wishek have a strong track record for developing innovative products that improve the productivity of the farmer. We believe the combination of Amity's product innovation with AGCO's worldwide distribution resources will create a successful alliance. The Amity air seeder is ideal for wheat production particularly in North America and Eastern Europe and will help complement AGCO's other product offerings within those regions."
Safe Harbor Statement
Statements which are not historical facts, including expectations regarding the development and sales of the products produced by the joint venture, are forward-looking and subject to risks that could cause actual results to differ materially from those suggested by the statements. These risks include possible declines in demand for products as a result of weather, demand and other conditions that impact farm income, actions by producers of competitive products, and the general risks attendant to acquisitions. Further information concerning these and other factors is included in AGCO's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2009. AGCO disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements except as required by law.
About AGCO
AGCO, Your Agriculture Company (NYSE: AGCO), was founded in 1990 and offers a full product line of tractors, combines, hay tools, sprayers, forage, tillage equipment, implements and related replacement parts. AGCO agricultural products are sold under the core brands of Challenger(R), Fendt(R), Massey Ferguson(R) and Valtra(R), and are distributed globally through more than 2,700 independent dealers and distributors, in more than 140 countries worldwide. Financing is available through AGCO Finance. AGCO is headquartered in Duluth, Georgia, USA. In 2009, AGCO had net sales of $6.6 billion. Please visit our website at http://www.AGCOcorp.com.
SOURCE: AGCO
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