Deere to sell majority interest in landscape business

Private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice has agreed to acquire John Deere Landscapes (JDL) in a deal valued at about $465 million.

JDL, based in Alpharetta, Ga., is a unit of Deere & Co.’s Agriculture & Turf segment. Deere will initially retain a 40 percent ownership stake in the new standalone company.

Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R), based in New York, acquired TruGreen parent company ServiceMaster in 2007. TruGreen is the largest company in the landscape industry, according to Landscape Management’s 2013 LM150 list, with $979 million in 2012 annual revenue.

With more than $1 billion in annual revenue, JDL is the largest North American distributor of landscaping products sold primarily to professional landscape contractors for use in residential and commercial settings. Operating 400-plus branches in the U.S. and Canada, JDL is the only national distributor in a highly fragmented industry. JDL distributes wholesale irrigation, landscape lighting, nursery and turf and maintenance supplies. Some turf and maintenance products are sold under the JDL-owned LESCO brand.

“John Deere Landscapes is a market-leading, branch-based distribution business managed by a talented executive team that we are very excited to have as partners,” said David Wasserman, a CD&R partner. “The business has many attractive features, including scale, breadth of product offering and service excellence, all of which provide significant strategic and competitive advantages in supporting the requirements of the professional landscape contractor.”

Paul Pressler, a CD&R operating partner, will assume the role of chairman upon the close of the transaction, expected in December.

“The new company should benefit from a recovery in residential and commercial construction activity as well as through the meaningful value creation opportunities available to drive the business forward,” said CD&R Partner Ken Giuriceo.

Click here for the press release from John Deere.