Doosan to buy Bobcat

Doosan Infracore has agreed to pay US$ 4.9 billion to acquire Ingersoll Rand's construction equipment businesses, including Bobcat, the world's largest manufacturer of compact equipment. the deal is the biggest ever overseas acquisition by a South Korean company, and is the also the largest ever acquisition in the construction equipment sector.

The acquisition includes Ingersoll Rand's attachments and utility equipment businesses, as well as Bobcat. these had total sales of US$ 2.6 billion last year, and generated operating profits of US$ 370 million. the assets being acquired include 16 factories in six countries around the world, and it also gives Doosan access to a network of more than 2700 dealers in the US and Europe.

The acquisition will increase Doosan's annual sales to some US$ 7.4 billion, a figure that includes its diesel engine, forklift truck, machine tool and defence equipment businesses alongside construction equipment. By iC's estimates, the 2006 pro-forma sales of the two companies’ construction equipment activities would be US$ 4.2 billion.

Doosan says that it will continue to run its existing businesses and the Ingersoll Rand businesses separately following the acquisition. This includes maintaining separate dealer networks.