Ploeger Oxbo Group has attracted a new major shareholder. NPM Capital is the strong financial partner that the manufacturer of specialty agricultural equipment has been looking for to support its long-term growth strategy. This strategy is aimed at bolstering innovation and product development to further strengthen Ploeger Oxbo’s leading position in its worldwide niche markets. The transaction file has also been submitted to the required Competition Authorities.
Ploeger Oxbo’s roots go back to the 1950’s. The group was formed in 2011 in a merger between Netherlands-based Ploeger and US-based Oxbo. Over the past decades, the companies have expanded rapidly as a result of autonomous growth and acquisitions. From a strong position in harvesters for corn, beans and peas the product range has been expanded to equipment for crops like potatoes, berries, coffee, olives and grapes and to self-propelled windrow mergers, sprayers and fertilizer applicators. Ploeger Oxbo has a leading position in these niche markets and operates in forty countries on all continents. Over the past months both Ploeger Oxbo and NPM Capital have developed a shared vision on the strategic direction of the company.
“This company has a strong entrepreneurial spirit”, say Gary Stich and Niels Havermans, both Board members at Ploeger Oxbo. “The fact that the founders of the group in 2011, both private as well as three Dutch investment companies (Synergia Capital Partners, VDL Participatie and via Bolster Investment Partners), will participate in the future shows a great level of confidence in the markets we are in as well as the strategic direction of the company. Together we have decided to sell 40 percent of our holdings to a powerful financial partner who shares our values and focus on long-term development and can support add-on acquisitions.”
The participation in Ploeger Oxbo Group fits NPM Capital’s focus on the agri-tech sector, says Rutger Ruigrok, managing partner of the investment company. “Ploeger Oxbo creates innovative solutions for the agricultural sector that needs new technologies to be able to feed a fast-growing world population. It is a company with both great social value and strong growth potential – exactly what we are looking for.”
Ploeger Oxbo was advised by Nielen Schuman (financial) and DLA Piper (legal). NPM Capital was advised by Rabobank and Vondel Finance (financial) and Nauta Dutilh (legal).
