MOLINE, Ill., Oct. 12, 2016 /CNW/ -- Deere & Company (NYSE:
DE) has reached an agreement to enable Ag
Leader, a precision agriculture competitor, to offer
products currently sold by Precision Planting. The agreement is
contingent on Deere completing the acquisition of Precision
Planting from The Climate Corporation, a subsidiary of Monsanto
Company.
The agreement will provide Ag
Leader the technologies and licenses necessary to
manufacture and sell the Precision Planting SpeedTube and related
technology, including vSet, vDrive, and DeltaForce, once the
acquisition of Precision Planting is completed. The agreement
enables Ag Leader to further
develop these products and continue delivering innovative
solutions for precision agriculture.
It also further enhances competition and innovation in the
market and expands customers' choices for planting equipment,
whether they are buying new machinery or retrofitting older
planting equipment made by various manufacturers with the latest
innovations in planting technology.
The agreement will expand competition and the availability of
various planting solutions as Ag
Leader will be allowed to sell Precision Planting products
using the current names that farmers have come to trust.
Importantly, Ag Leader remains a
completely independent competitor to Deere and Precision
Planting.
In November 2015, Deere signed a
definitive agreement to acquire the Precision Planting, LLC.
equipment business. In August, the U.S. Department of Justice
challenged the transaction, delaying its completion, and Deere
announced it would contest the DOJ action.
For generations, Deere has helped American farmers successfully
compete globally. The proposed acquisition would accelerate the
development of new precision equipment solutions to help farmers
improve productivity and increase yields to help feed a growing
global population.
Deere anticipates Ag Leader will
sell Precision Planting components to retrofit Deere and other
brands of planters and will provide a separate and competitive
source of supply for OEM planter manufacturers that choose to equip
their products with Precision Planting components.
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visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/deere-plans-to-further-expand-customer-choice-in-planter-market-300343906.html
SOURCE Deere & Company