PEORIA, Ill. (AP) — Caterpillar Inc. said Malaysian conglomerate Sime Darby is paying $360 million for part of the former Bucyrus distribution business, which Caterpillar acquired through its $7.6 billion acquisition of the surface mining equipment maker last year.
Sime Darby, one of the world's largest palm oil companies, is also a Caterpillar dealer in Asia. The purchase includes the Sime Darby Industrial Cat dealerships in Australia and other countries.
Caterpillar, the world's largest construction and mining equipment maker, said the Bucyrus deal is the first of several that it expects to make. It wants to transition product distribution and support of Bucyrus machinery to Cat dealers that supply mining companies around the world.
As part of the acquisition, which was announced late Tuesday, about 400 former Bucyrus employees are expected to move to Sime Darby's Australian subsidiary Hastings Deering.
The Peoria, Ill., company also said it expects to start selling former Bucyrus mining products through Sime Darby's other Cat dealerships, although that wasn't part of Tuesday's deal.
