Barloworld moves out of Iberia

South African-based Barloworld, Caterpillar’s dealer in Spain and Portugal with BWIberia, is selling its business there to Cat’s dealer in Italy and the Balkans – Tesa, which operates as CGT.

Quinton McGeer, CEO of BWIberia, said that despite the implementation of a business improvement plan, analysis of Iberia, the market potential and growth rates had led the company to conclude that these conditions would not allow it “to achieve the Barloworld group’s return expectations as a South African-headquartered company with emerging market capability”.

In consultation with Caterpillar, he said, it had been decided that the business should be sold to a Caterpillar-approved dealer.

Now, Barloworld, acting through its wholly-owned UK subsidiary, Barloworld UK, will sell 100% of the issued shares in Barloworld International, the holding company for the Iberian operations, to Tesa. The transaction is expected to close no later than 3 July, 2018.

The deal will end 26 years of Barloworld as a distributor in the Spanish and Portuguese service territories. It said CGT had 84 years’ experience as a Caterpillar dealer.