The transaction, valued at approximately $300 million, is expected to close in the second quarter of 2021.

Building on Global Partnership Accomplishments

Since 2019, Valmont and Prospera have successfully integrated AI technologies with center pivot irrigation to develop real-time crop analysis and anomaly detection solutions resulting in strong adoption and greater returns for the grower. Leveraging Prospera’s unique technology, the partnership has expanded its intelligent solutions, monitoring five million acres in 2020 against an original estimate of one million, with twice as many growers using the service as compared to 2019. Grower adoption is expected to double in 2021 with greater acceleration in the near-term.

“Today’s acquisition is a testament to our commitment to make the farm more efficient and increase productivity while dramatically improving sustainability. Building on the successful partnership with Prospera, we are accelerating our commitment to provide services that enhance the lives of our customers and the communities in which they operate, as well as finding new ways to achieve higher crop yields using less – land, water, chemicals, fertilizers, fuel and time,”

said Valmont President and Chief Executive Officer Stephen G. Kaniewski.

Kaniewski continued,

“Over the past two years we have delivered a widely-adopted, differentiated grower offering and significantly accelerated the deployment of AI technologies on irrigated acres, positioning us well for strong, highly-accretive growth of technology sales over the next several years. We are excited to welcome the Prospera team to Valmont and collaborate to commercialize technology for growers with unique in-season capabilities, while having a positive impact on our planet and enhancing long-term stakeholder value.”

“Our strategic partnership has demonstrated the unique combined value of Prospera’s capabilities and Valmont’s agricultural expertise and market leadership,” said Prospera Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer Daniel Koppel. “This combination is the fastest way to scale impactful ag-tech solutions. We are excited about the future and the opportunity to continue to further our work to feed an expanding global population through our machine learning technologies that allow growers to make more informed, efficient and scientific decisions.”

Combining Capabilities to Accelerate Industry Leadership

• Unique, Disruptive and Differentiated Value Proposition: The transaction will create one of the largest global, vertically-integrated AI company in agriculture, immediately providing a highly differentiated in-season solution. Using the pivot as the digital data hub, this solution brings demonstrated, advanced agronomy and unprecedented visibility to the field, enabling the grower to take immediate action to remediate issues. Leveraging Prospera’s technology and Valmont’s global reach and omnipresence on the field, the combination will create the first commercially available subscription model of its kind, providing innovative and disruptive solutions to help growers lower costs, increase yields, use less land and save time.
• Catalyst for Growth: Strengthens and expands total addressable market by pursuing opportunities beyond traditional, pivot-based irrigated acres. Accelerates technology adoption with growers and provides a less-cyclical sales contribution delivered through recurring revenue from subscription-based data analytics and insights.
• Entrepreneurial Spirit and Key Talent Additions: Adds world-class talent across technology, data science and agronomy, including Prospera’s senior leadership team and 90 colleagues, all of whom will continue with the business post-close. With senior leadership headquartered in Austin, TX, one of the nation’s rapidly-growing tech hubs, and an R&D center located in Tel Aviv, Israel, an international ML and CV center, Prospera is well-positioned to expand its unique pool of talent, continuing growth and innovation with the same entrepreneurial spirit that has led to its success.

Founded in 2014 and backed by strategic investors including Bessemer, Qualcomm, Cisco, More and Tekfen, Prospera has recently been listed among the World Economic Forum Technology Pioneers and CB Insights Top 100 AI Companies, Frost & Sullivan New Product Innovation and Fast Company World Changing Ideas, and has received the AgFunder Innovation Award.

Transaction Terms and Financing

Valmont will invest approximately $300 million to fully acquire Prospera and the transaction will be financed through a combination of funds from available cash and the Company’s revolving credit facility. Restricted stock retention awards will be granted to Prospera employees.

The transaction, which is subject to customary closing conditions, is expected to close in the second quarter of 2021.

Source: Valmont

The post Valmont Announces an Official Agreement to Aquire Prospera Technologies appeared first on North America FarmQuip Magazine.

“Last year, we made a promise to elevate our ESG communication, sharing our commitments and accomplishments with all stakeholders, and I’m proud to say that we have done so. Our vision is to be the leading provider for sustainable infrastructure and agriculture solutions in the markets we serve,”

said Stephen G. Kaniewski, President, and Chief Executive Officer.

Highlights of the Sustainability Report include:

• Announcing 2025 environmental goals
  • 19% reduction in Scope I mobile source carbon intensity
  • 12% additional reduction in normalized global electrical usage
  • 10% reduction in Scope I/II carbon intensity
• Aligning products and solutions to support critical ESG principles such as,
  • supporting the rise in renewable energy and the need for grid resiliency
  • providing smart infrastructure to help close the digital divide and enhance road safety
  • delivering precision irrigation solutions to help foster food security and feed growing populations
  • conserving resources by extending the service life of metal infrastructure
• Created a new senior leadership position to lead Inclusion & Diversity efforts and establishing a diverse array of Employee Resource Groups
• Spotlighting the success of the Company’s Champion Green Teams – annual awards recognizing sites that have made significant improvements in their sustainability efforts
• Celebrating the resilience of employees who demonstrated great agility in adjusting to changes in the workplace brought on by the pandemic

“We are excited to highlight our commitments throughout the organization along with our plans to conserve resources and improve life in 2021 and the years beyond,”

said Kaniewski.

Source: Valmont

The post Valmont Releases 2021 Sustainability Report appeared first on North America FarmQuip Magazine.

Stephen G. Kaniewski, President and Chief Executive Officer said:

“In recognition of our strong balance sheet and confidence in our ability to generate good cash flows throughout our business cycles, we are pleased to announce a 20% increase in our quarterly dividend. In keeping with our capital allocation philosophy adopted by our Board of Directors in 2014, we aim to strike a prudent balance between returning excess capital to shareholders while upholding the ability to fund continued growth, both organically and through strategic acquisitions. We believe this dividend increase demonstrates our commitment to deliver sustained, long-term profitable growth for our shareholders.”

 

Source: Valmont

The post Valmont Announces 20% Dividend Increase appeared first on North America FarmQuip Magazine.

A news release outlining the fourth quarter and full-year 2019 financial results will be distributed after the market close on Wednesday, February 19, 2020. A live audio discussion with Stephen G. Kaniewski, President and Chief Executive Officer, and Mark C. Jaksich, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, will be accessible by telephone at 1-877-407-6184 or 1-201-389-0877 (no Conference ID needed). Further information is indicated on the website.

Source: Valmont

The post Valmont Announces Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2019 Earnings Conference Call appeared first on North America FarmQuip Magazine.