On the third day of its new CEO's tenure, Toro Co. agreed to acquire a German-based maker of professional irrigation equipment.
Privately held Regnerbau Calw GmbH makes the Perrot brand of irrigation equipment. Regnerbau, based in Althengstett, Germany, makes a variety of irrigation products including retractable sprinklers used in sports fields and irrigation equipment used in agricultural and industrial applications. The Perrot equipment is known for its long-distance casting and fast rotation.
Rick Olson, who has been with Toro for more than 30 years and president and chief operating officer since September 2015, took over the CEO role on Tuesday.
"The addition of the Perrot portfolio helps expand Toro's presence in the sports field and agricultural industries, while also growing our position in adjacencies to our core businesses," Olson said in a statement. "This acquisition is consistent with our strategy to grow in the professional, water and global markets, and provides an expanded offering of professional irrigation solutions to better serve our customers."
Bloomington-based Toro makes irrigation equipment for golf courses and other professional and residential landscape markets, and professional agricultural irrigation equipment.
Toro's irrigation equipment accounted for approximately 16 percent of Toro's $2.4 billion in total sales for fiscal 2015.
Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Toro's stock share price closed Thursday at $46.74, down 20 cents.
