THE PRICE JUST WENT UP - Kubota dealers love it.
“Kubota executives were not available for comment by press time. Dealership Opportunities: Among the 691 Kubota dealerships in the U.S. and Canada, about 69% also carry one of the major lines. Just over 21% of the 691 dealerships already carry precision brands like AgJunction, Trimble, Topcon, Ag Leader, Precision Planting and 360 Yield. This data points to potential for the large-scale distribution that AgJunction’s board viewed as vital for success in ag equipment automation. It also gives Kubota the opportunity to directly compete with some of the majors’ offerings in the precision ag equipment space. Eighty-five percent of Kubota dealers in the U.S. and Canada sell ag equipment. Leo Johnson, president of the 5-store dealer group Johnson Tractor in Wisconsin and Illinois, says the acquisition announcement is great for Kubota dealers, specifically big ag dealers like Johnson Tractor that first took on Kubota 30 years ago to sell lawn mowers. “Today Kubota represents a very substantial part of our product offering, sales revenues and profits,” Johnson says. “Kubota saw that they had a precision farming gap and did something about it. Not by forming a ‘strategic alliance,’ but getting out their checkbook and buying a company.” He predicts Kubota will integrate precision technology into its products “sooner rather than later.” The impact on the technology supplier landscape is another matter. “Kubota owns Great Plains,” wrote one North Dakota farmer on an industry message board. “Considering Great Plains uses Dickey-John currently, I could see them wanting to switch to everything in-house.” From Adversary to Acquisition: The acquisition is the next chapter in the companies’ shared history. In 2019, AgJunction sued Kubota and several of its subsidiaries for patent infringement. The lawsuit alleged that Kubota products violated three AgJunction patents related to automated machine control and implement steering, specifically naming Kubota’s M7 Series tractors and newer updated models with autosteer components. The lawsuit settled in October of 2020. Under the terms of the settlement, AgJunction granted Kubota a non-exclusive license in the U.S. and Canada in exchange for undisclosed royalty payments from Kubota. The parties also agreed to begin discussions about AgJunction supplying or developing autosteer and autonomous solutions for Kubota products worldwide.” Source: Ag Equipment Intelligence