ACQUISITIONS

12 Months Ended

Dec. 25, 2021

Acquisitions of Businesses

On May 12, 2021, the Company acquired the outstanding shares of Prospera Technologies, Ltd. ("Prospera"), an artificial intelligence company focused on machine learning and computer vision in agriculture, for $300,000 in cash (net of cash acquired). The acquisition of Prospera, located in Tel Aviv, Israel, was made to allow the Company to accelerate innovation with machine learning for agronomy and is reported in the Irrigation segment. In the purchase price allocation, goodwill of $273,453, developed technology of $32,900, trade name of $2,850, property, plant, and equipment of $1,063, and a deferred tax liability of $8,223 were recorded with the remainder to net working capital. Goodwill is not deductible for tax purposes, the trade name will be amortized over 7 years, and the developed technology asset will be amortized over 5 years. The amount allocated to goodwill was primarily attributable to anticipated synergies and other intangibles that do not qualify for separate recognition. The Company finalized the purchase price allocation in the fourth quarter of 2021.

On April 20, 2021 the Company acquired the assets of PivoTrac for $12,500 in cash. The agreed upon purchase price was $14,000, with $1,500 being held back for seller representations and warranties that will be settled within 12 months of the acquisition date. The acquisition of PivoTrac, located in Texas, was made to allow the Company to advance its technology strategy and increase its number of connected agricultural devices and is reported in the Irrigation segment. The preliminary fair values assigned were $10,800 for goodwill, $2,627 for customer relationships, and the remainder is net working capital. Goodwill is not deductible for tax purposes and the customer relationship will be amortized over 8 years. The amount allocated to goodwill was primarily attributable to anticipated synergies and other intangibles that do not qualify for separate recognition. The Company expects the purchase price allocation to be finalized in the second quarter of 2022.

On May 29, 2020, the Company acquired 55% of Energia Solar do Brasil ("Solbras") for $4,308. Approximately $646 of the purchase price was contingent on seller representations and warranties and was settled for the full amount in the second quarter of 2021. Solbras is a leading provider of solar energy solutions for agriculture. In the purchase price allocation, goodwill of $3,341 and customer relationships of $3,718 were recorded and the remainder to net working capital. Goodwill is not deductible for tax purposes and the customer relationship will be amortized over 8 years. The acquisition of Solbras, located in Brazil, was made to allow the Company to expand its product offerings in the Irrigation segment to include not only pivots, but also a sustainable and low-cost energy source to provide electricity to the units. The Company finalized the purchase price allocation in the fourth quarter of 2020.

On March 6, 2020, the Company acquired 75% of KC Utility Packaging, LLC for $4,200. Approximately $400 of the purchase price was contingent on seller representations and warranties and was settled for the full amount in the first quarter of 2021. The Company name was subsequently changed to Valmont Substations LLC. The acquisition was made to expand the Company's utility substation product offering. In the purchase price allocation, goodwill of $1,100, customer relationships of $4,000, and other intangibles of $500 were recorded. The Company finalized the purchase price allocation in the fourth quarter of 2020.

On May 13, 2019, the Company acquired the assets of Connect-It Wireless, Inc. ("Connect-It") for $6,034 in cash. Connect-It operates in Florida and is a manufacturer and distributor of wireless site components and safety products. In the purchase price allocation, goodwill of $3,299 and customer relationships of $828 were recorded and the remainder to net working capital. A portion of the goodwill is deductible for tax purposes. The amount allocated to goodwill was primarily attributable to anticipated synergies and other intangibles that do not qualify for separate recognition. Connect-It is included in the ESS segment and was acquired to expand the Company's wireless component distribution network. The purchase price allocation was finalized in the fourth quarter of 2019.

On February 11, 2019, the Company acquired the outstanding shares of United Galvanizing ("United"), a provider of coatings services for $26,000 in cash. The agreed upon purchase price was $28,000, with $2,000 being contingent on seller representations and warranties that was settled in the first quarter of 2020 for $1,522. The acquisition of United, located in Houston, Texas further expanded the Company's galvanizing footprint in North America and is reported in the Coatings segment. The fair values assigned were $12,374 for goodwill, $3,170 for customer relationships, trade name of $894, $10,987 for property, plant, and equipment, and the remainder to net working capital. Goodwill is not deductible for tax purposes and the customer relationship will be amortized over 10 years. The amount allocated to goodwill was primarily attributable to anticipated synergies and other intangibles that do not qualify for separate recognition. The trade name has an indefinite life. The Company finalized the purchase price allocation in the fourth quarter of 2019.

Acquisition-related costs incurred for the above acquisitions were insignificant for all years presented.

Proforma disclosures were omitted for the 2021 and 2020 acquisitions as the 2021 acquisitions of Prospera and PivoTrac and the 2020 acquisitions of Solbras and Valmont Substation do not have a significant impact on the Company's financial results. The proforma effect of 2019 acquisitions on the 2019 Consolidated Statements of Earnings is as follows:


	Fifty-two Weeks Ended December 28, 2019
Net sales	$	2,772,150
Net earnings	146,941
Earnings per share-diluted	6.75

Acquisitions of Noncontrolling Interests

In February 2020, the Company acquired the remaining 49% of AgSense that it did not own for $43,983, which includes a holdback payment of $2,200 that was made in the second quarter of 2020. The accounting for owning 100% of AgSense resulted in the recognition of a deferred tax asset of approximately $7,700.

In December 2020, the Company acquired the remaining 40% of Torrent Engineering and Equipment that it did not own for $3,500. In the first quarter of 2020, the Company acquired 16% of the remaining 25% that it did not own of Convert Italia for a cash payment of $11,750. The purchase agreement also settled the escrow funds which the Company had paid at date of acquisition.