30.07.2007

Doosan buys Bobcat

Ingersoll-Rand has sold its Bobcat business to Korea’s largest construction equipment maker, Doosan infracore, for $4.9 billion in cash.

The deal is expected to complete in the fourth quarter.
The company is part of Doosan Group, which has revenues of $15 billion from power station construction to engine manufacture in addition to retail businesses ranging from restaurants publishing GQ magazine in South Korea.

Doosan is also the corporate name for Daewoo construction equipment, Doosan having completed the acquisition of the Daewoo Heavy Industries business in 2005.

Doosan Infracore will set up a company with Doosan Engine to make the acquisition and will raise $700 million towards the acquisition costs, with the new company raising the rest and carrying the debt on its books.

Doosan is above all looking to Bobcat to expand its presence in the North American market to help sell its own construction products which includes excavators and wheeled loaders, most of which are larger than anything Bobcat produces.

No mention was made of the Bobcat telehandler line apart from the fact a brief mention of the plant in France. Doosan is aiming to become one of the top five construction equipment manufacturers by 2010.