A Fantuzzi forklift

The on-again, off-again Terex purchase of Italian port equipment businesses Fantuzzi and Noell are on again, with the US corporation announcing that it has agreed on a term sheet to acquire the Fantuzzi Industries and Noell Crane for a net consideration of approximately EUR175 million (USD232 million).

Term sheets have also been agreed with the existing financial creditors to the Fantuzzi group for long-term financing on favourable terms to provide substantially all of the funds necessary to complete the transaction, according to a statement from Terex. The term sheets are non-binding and it is the intention of the parties to work to enter into agreements and complete the transaction within the next few weeks.

Terex initially announced the acquisition of the Fantuzzi and Noell businesses in August of 2008 for a total consideration of approximately EUR215 million (USD285 million)and subsequently announced in December of 2008 that it was terminating the acquisition "due to the existence of a material adverse change in the Fantuzzi business". After the termination, Fantuzzi disputed the termination and initiated arbitration proceedings against Terex in Italy (Forkliftaction.com News #389).

However, the parties, together with the lenders to the Fantuzzi and Noell businesses, continued to engage in discussions to resolve the matter.

"Immediately after closing, we will begin to work with Fantuzzi's team members, suppliers, distributors, customers and other stakeholders to aggressively restructure and position these businesses for the eventual recovery in their markets," says Rick Nichols, president of Terex Cranes.

Phil Widman, Terex senior vice president and chief financial officer, adds that upon completion of this transaction, "our debt levels will increase modestly due to the financing provided from the existing financial creditors. With the long-term maturities and expected company-wide cash flow generation, we believe liquidity should be sufficient to get us through the economic downturn."