John Deere & Company Sells Homelite Brand

MOLINE, Ill. - Deere & Company announced on Nov. 16, 2001 that it has sold its Homelite consumer products business to TechTronics Industries Co., Ltd. (TTI) of Hong Kong. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Under terms of the agreement, Techtronics will own the Homelite brand of handheld and power equipment and the Green Machine brand name previously used by Deere on handheld power equipment.

This announcement does not affect other John Deere products made for consumers, the company said.

The sale of Homelite is part of Deere & Company's previously announced comprehensive strategy to gain substantial improvement in business performance and affects operations in Mexico, South Carolina and North Carolina. The sale does not include the John Deere facility in Columbia, S.C., which makes saw chain as part of the Homelite operations. That business is being marketed separately.