The Toro Company Acquires Boss Snowplow For $225 Million Toro announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the professional snow and ice management business of privately held Northern Star Industries, Inc. for an estimated $225 million. Although the deal is not finalized yet because of some customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals the deal will most likely close during Toro is fiscal 2015 first quarter. This acquisition should prove beneficial to both Toro and Boss. Based in Iron Mountain, Michigan, BOSS is arguably one of the leaders in the snow and ice industry and a favorite for many of our customers. They design, manufacture, and sell snowplows salt spreaders for light and medium duty trucks, ATVs, UTVs and loaders. BOSS sales in 2014 are anticipated to be approximately $125 million. The Toro Company, with sales of more than $2 billion in fiscal 2013, is a leading worldwide provider of innovative turf, landscape, rental and construction equipment, and irrigation and outdoor lighting solutions. This strategic move to venture further into the outdoor power equipment market will only increase their brand presence and profitability. Michael J. Hoffman, Toro’s chairman and chief executive officer, commented on the acquisition saying, “With the addition of BOSS to our existing market-leading professional contractor businesses, we are even better positioned to strengthen and grow our relationships with these important customers by providing them with the innovative and durable equipment and high-quality service they need for each season. We’ve long been interested in the professional snow and ice management category. We are impressed with BOSS’s solid business performance and we are optimistic about the opportunities for growth through product line expansion and in international markets. In addition, BOSS brings a talented and experienced management team, a passionate and dedicated team of employees and a culture of innovation and customer service that is similar to our own”. As a privately-held business in a smaller community, it is essential to us that BOSS transition to a company that not only is well-positioned to take us to the next level but also shares our commitment to innovation, customers, employees and the communities in which we live and work said David Brule II, President of BOSS. We are impressed with Toro, its rich 100-year history and consistent record of performance. Overall, it is a great fit for us. On behalf of myself and the entire BOSS team, we look forward to the next phase of the BOSS journey as part of the Toro family Overall, not much should change in the Boss distribution network and customers will never even notice the difference, similar to when Douglas Dynamics acquired Trynex last year. As a long time distributor of Boss products we will continue to stock Boss equipment and parts for our valued customers. Ironically, this acquisition should actually improve the availability of Boss products, which can sometimes be hard to get. � |