Linamar Corporation is set to acquire Bourgault Industries Ltd. of St. Brieux, Saskatchewan, for C$640 million.
Linamar’s existing agricultural brands include harvesting specialist MacDon and tillage and crop nutrition expert Salford.
The company says that buying Bourgault positions Linamar to increase its market position as it now possesses a full lineup of products in the broader crop production cycle, from field preparation, to seeding, crop nutrition, harvest and post harvest. The acquisition includes Bourgault’s Highline Manufacturing division which produces hay handling and livestock feeding equipment, as well as roto-moulding producer Free Form Plastics.
Bourgault Industries Ltd. released the world’s first tow-behind, 138 bushel air seeder cart with the Dual-Purpose line of cultivators in the fall of 1980. In the over 40 years since, Bourgault has continued to change the way broadacre farmers put seed in the ground from the Canadian Prairies and around the world.
“Bourgault was started by my father and has a rich history in agriculture,” says Bourgault president Gerry Bourgault. “The Bourgault family is incredibly proud of the legacy we have created both here in in St. Brieux, Saskatchewan, but also around the world. We are excited to have our team of over nine hundred people in Saskatchewan, and over one thousand worldwide, join the Linamar family.”
Bourgault will become part of a new Linamar Agriculture division, which also includes Skyjack, a manufacturer of aerial work platforms. This division will continue to operate the shortline brands of MacDon, Salford, and Bourgault independently.
“We are thrilled to welcome Bourgault Industries into the Linamar family,” says Linda Hasenfratz, Linamar executive chair and CEO. “Bourgault is another Canadian manufacturing success story that draws many similarities to Linamar’s history of entrepreneurism and technical innovation.”
The transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals and expected to close in Q1 2024.