CNH Industrial has purchased Augmenta to accelerate the growth of its innovative Sense & Act technology. The target business was a previous CNH Industrial Ventures investment and a strategic partner.
CNH Industrial, which held an existing 10.5 per cent stake in Augmenta, is acquiring Augmenta Holding SAS at an enterprise value of $110 million, subject to customary adjustments. The purchase will be funded from cashflow, and the deal is expected to complete during the third quarter of 2023.
“Our work with Augmenta has brought increasing benefits to our customers’ operations,” the president of CNH Industrial’s agriculture division, Derek Neilson, said. “What began as a minority investment in its potential now culminates in us adding this proven tech excellence directly to our sprayer offering.
“This is an important development for our agriculture business that will further support our dealers by differentiating our equipment through value-added technology.”
“Augmenta’s technology will expedite development of our broader ‘Sense & Act’ capabilities to create value for our customers,” CNH Industrial’s chief digital product officer, Parag Garg, added. “Sense & Act tasks are based on sensor-detected data during the spraying process, wherein crop protection solutions are applied both before and after harvest. This technology gives machines selective spraying capabilities that precisely directs and regulates spray volume.
“Augmenta’s work in this area includes the development of a multispectral camera and software that monitors a machine’s operating environment and acts directly via the machine. This increases yield for our customers, boosts sustainability by eliminating unnecessary chemical and fertiliser use, and most importantly reduces application time, effort and input costs. Savings in herbicide, fungicide, plant growth regulators and fertiliser represent the largest value pool for this technology.”
Augmenta will operate within CNH Industrial’s Raven brand, as a subset of its precision technology portfolio. It will maintain its existing employees and offices in Greece and the USA.
