CNH Industrial NV agreed on Monday to hand control of its construction equipment business to Japan’s Kobelco Construction Machinery, a unit of Kobe Steel Ltd., in a deal that values the operation at $1 billion including debt and leaves CNH a nearly pure agricultural machinery company.
Kobelco will take 70% of a new joint venture that will run the business, which makes excavators, wheel loaders, graders, dozers, skid steers and backhoes sold under the CASE Construction, New Holland Construction and Eurocomach names. CNH expects to receive about $700 million in cash, subject to adjustments for net debt and working capital, and will hold the remaining 30%. Each side faces a three-year lock-up. CNH plans to use the proceeds to cut debt.
Narrowing to the farm
The sale is the latest step in a reshaping that began with CNH’s 2021 purchase of precision-farming company Raven Industries and continued with the 2022 spinoff of truck maker Iveco Group. CNH, which reported $18.1 billion of revenue in 2025 across Case IH, New Holland and its other brands, said the transaction should lift its margins and free money to invest in tractors, combines and farm technology as the agricultural market recovers. Its farm dealers will still be able to sell machines supplied by the venture, and CNH Capital will keep financing construction customers.
For Kobelco, best known for hydraulic excavators and cranes, the deal adds a broad lineup and a global dealer network, particularly in North America. Humayun Chishti, who runs CNH’s construction segment, is expected to lead the venture as chief executive. Closing is targeted by the end of 2027, subject to regulatory approvals. BofA Securities and Goldman Sachs advised CNH; Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley advised Kobelco.
