The machinery and engine manufacturer Caterpillar has placed a $7.6 billion takeover bid for another equipment maker, Bucyrus. Currently Caterpillar produces heavy duty trucks and excavators. If the deal with Bucyrus goes through it will add giant electrical shovels and other mining equipment to its catalogue.
The move from Caterpillar for consolidation comes as the largest deal that the company has ever made in its 85 years of existence. The Peoria, Illinois based company is basing this decision on the great mining boom which the world markets are experiencing right now.
They think, and rightly so, that mining equipment is a good investment to make in the current scenario where the global demand for coal, iron ore, copper, gold and uranium are soaring beyond imagination. The new products which would be on offer are likely to double the current revenue that Caterpillar generates from mining.
The mining boom may also see Bucyrus rival Joy Global Inc being taken over by Hitachi Construction Machinery or Komatsu Ltd. of Japan, as their products will complement each other. These consolidations are driven by the demand from emerging markets in Brazil, China and India.