Yanmar Co Ltd has strengthened its alliance with Manitou BF by acquiring 6.26% of the French manufacturer's capital and voting rights for an undisclosed sum.
Yanmar announced last week it had acquired the shares from the French bank Société Générale. The shareholding investment comes as the two groups plan to enhance their strategic alliance by expanding cross-distribution into Mexico and Latin America.
A Manitou statement said the Manitou families (owners) and management are "very pleased (with) the transaction and see it as a very positive development".
Chairman of the board of directors Marcel Braud thanked Société Générale for "having always stood by us and for permitting the arrival of our partner, Yanmar, as an equity investor in Manitou".
Takehito Yamaoka, president of Yanmar, says: "It is becoming more necessary for each player to have a wide range of product line-up in today's construction market; but we believe the product synergy through this strategic alliance will let the two companies become more attractive and help us to find more chances to see new customers."
In January of 2012, Manitou and Yanmar announced a strategic alliance in North America. Manitou Americas distributes Yanmar's compact excavators throughout North America under the Gehl and Mustang brand names, while Yanmar America distributes compact equipment skid steers and track loaders under its brand name.
This agreement also enhances the groups' 25-year engine partnership. Through constant collaboration, the Yanmar engine offering for the compact equipment division has met performance expectations in a changing regulatory environment.
Dominique Bamas, president and CEO of Manitou, says that in addition to having very similar corporate cultures, the synergies which exist between the two companies are numerous and strong. "Among those available to us, this partnership intensifies our collaboration with respect to engines. Product expansion opportunities are currently under way to develop distribution networks for the Gehl- and Mustang-branded excavators in Mexico, Central America and Latin America.
"The expansion of our excavator distribution will extend our brand exposure as well as provide greater opportunities for increased business. Working with our current dealer distribution network throughout these regions, this valuable opportunity to enter the growing excavator market segment will lead to our mutual success for increased revenue and a strengthened strategic alliance with Yanmar."
Manitou Group designs, assembles and distributes materials handling solutions for agriculture, construction and industrial markets. In 2012, the group reported revenue of EUR1.265 billion (USD1.738 billion), of which two-thirds came from outside France. Business is conducted under the Manitou, Gehl, Mustang, Loc and Edge trademarks, through 1,400 independent dealers in more than 120 countries. As of December 31, 2012, Manitou Group employed about 3,300 people, of whom 40% work outside France.
Yanmar Co Ltd is headquartered in Osaka, Japan. The diesel engine manufacturer also designs and manufactures various agricultural, industrial and marine machines such as tractors, combine-harvesters, mini-excavators, generators and light fishing boats. The group turnover has reached JPY577.1 billion (USD5.9 billion) in FY2012, operating through numerous production and sales subsidiaries in Japan and worldwide with over 15,000 employees in total.