Buhler Industries intends to go private.
The publicly-traded Winnipeg firm, founded by the late John Buhler, will be absorbed entirely by the Turkish firm ASKO under a proposed deal.
Buhler Industries was established in 1969 when John Buhler purchased the Standard Gas Engine Works. The company produced the Farm King line of grain augers, snowblowers, mowers and other small implements. In 1982 Buhler purchased the Allied line of front-end loaders. In 2000 it purchased the Versatile tractor line from New Holland Ag, as part of the Case-New Holland merger and subsequent divestiture required by competition regulators. It operates eight manufacturing plants throughout North America.
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The purchaser, ASKO Holding, is wholly-owned by the Konukoğlu family. ASKO Holding owns the firm Basak Traktor, which purchased 96.7 per cent of Buhler Industries from Russian combine manufacturer Rostselmash.
Following the completion of the amalgamation, the shares will be de-listed from the Toronto Stock Exchange and the company will apply to cease to be a reporting issuer under applicable Canadian securities laws.
ASKO owns firms worldwide that manufacture construction equipment, energy and technology equipment, and agricultural equipment including tractors. As well as building and marketing its own equipment, it also distributes equipment regionally for the German firm CLAAS.
