Debevoise & Plimpton LLP advised Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (“CD&R”) in its agreement to acquire John Deere Landscapes (“JDL”), a unit of Deere & Company’s Agriculture & Turf segment. Deere will initially retain a 40% ownership stake in the new standalone company. The carve-out transaction is valued at approximately $465 million.

With over $1 billion in annual revenue, JDL is the largest North American distributor of landscaping products sold primarily to professional landscape contractors for use in residential and commercial settings. Operating over 400 branches in the United States and Canada, JDL is the only national distributor in a highly fragmented industry. JDL distributes wholesale irrigation, landscape lighting, nursery, and turf and maintenance supplies. Some turf and maintenance products are sold under the JDL-owned LESCO brand.

CD&R has obtained committed financing from UBS Loan Finance LLC, ING Capital LLC, HSBC Securities (USA) Inc., and Natixis.
Founded in 1978, Clayton, Dubilier & Rice is a private equity firm with an investment strategy predicated on producing financial returns through building stronger, more profitable businesses. Since inception, CD&R has managed the investment of more than $18 billion in 56 U.S. and European businesses with an aggregate transaction value of more than $90 billion. For more information, please visit www.cdr-inc.com.

The Debevoise team is led by partners Andrew L. Bab and Margaret Andrews Davenport, and includes partners Peter F.G. Schuur, Jeffrey E. Ross, Jeffrey P. Cunard and Jonathan F. Lewis, counsel Judith L. Church, and associates Amy C. Adams, Kamal Agrawal, Michael Duignan, Andrew M. Herman, Meir D. Katz, Catherine T. Kiwala, Jonathan L. Lubin, Stephanie Margulies, Zahra J. Khosrovi Sowder and Harry Zirlin.