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www.outdoorpowerequipment.com OUTDOOR POWER EQUIPMENT JANUARY 2017 13 Husqvarna Group and BMZ form strategic partnership for future battery development H usqvarna Group and BMZ GmbH, a system provider and specialist for intelligent battery solutions, recently entered into a strategic partnership agreement. The agreement covers development and manufacturing of future-generation lithium-ion batteries for Husqvarna Group's forestry, lawn and garden products. In order to further increase the competitiveness of Husqvarna Group's offering and drive the penetration of battery-powered products in the forestry, lawn and garden market, Husqvarna Group and BMZ have signed a strategic partnership to develop the most competitive battery and charger products for Husqvarna Group. Combining the core competencies of both organizations through a joint development team will reduce time to market and increase innovation capability. "It is with great pleasure I announce that we have signed an agreement with BMZ to jointly capture an important part of the rapidly growing battery market," said Pavel Hajman, president of the Husqvarna Division. "With this agreement, we will take our current relationship to a strategic cooperation with the aim to claim a leadership position through development of differentiating technologies, as well as cost-competitive battery- powered products for our industry." BMZ has established a leading position in the lithium-ion rechargeable battery market and is currently Husqvarna Group's largest supplier of battery packs and will retain that position with this strategic partnership. "There has never been a partnership at BMZ like the one we now are committed to with Husqvarna Group," said Sven Bauer, managing director of BMZ GmbH. "We are very excited to be FINANCIAL NEWS US INDEXES OF INTEREST Index Price Price Percent 52-week 52-week Index Ticker 11/25/16 10/25/16 Change High Low Dow Jones Industrial Average DJII 19,152.14 18,169.27 5.4% 19,152.14 15,450.56 S&P 500 SPX 2,213.35 2,143.16 3.3% 2,213.35 1,810.10 OUTDOOR POWER EQUIPMENT INDEX COMPONENTS Stock Price Price Percent Annual Annual Company Ticker 11/25/16 10/25/16 Change High Low Briggs & Stratton Corporation BGG $21.31 $18.54 14.9% $24.48 $15.47 Caterpillar CAT $95.81 $84.48 13.4% $96.44 $56.36 Deere & Company DE $103.92 $86.52 20.1% $104.83 $70.16 Douglas Dynamics, Inc. PLOW $32.45 $32.90 -1.4% $33.75 $16.89 Honda Motor Co. Ltd. HMC $29.41 $29.92 -1.7% $33.42 $24.03 Polaris Industries PII $89.35 $78.61 13.7% $107.30 $67.80 Terex TEX $30.91 $23.62 30.9% $31.33 $13.62 Textron, Inc. TXT $45.95 $39.13 17.4% $45.95 $30.68 The Toro Company TTC $53.50 $46.64 14.7% $54.15 $32.35 Source: FactSet, Wells Fargo Securities, LLC part of this journey as our teams will work side by side with a holistic view on everything from research through development and manufacturing automation." The partnership will extend to development, manufacturing and the supply of batteries and chargers for Husqvarna Group, including development of automated production techniques and capabilities for such purposes. To facilitate this, a joint operation has been set up at BMZ's premise in Karlstein, Germany, with permanent personnel from both Husqvarna Group and BMZ. ARI acquires Auction123 A RI Network Services, Inc. announced November 2 that it has acquired Auction123, Inc., a leading provider of software and services to help dealers in selected vertical markets manage and feed inventory information to online marketplaces to drive more sales and leads. Auction123 serves several vertical markets, including automotive, powersports, recreational vehicles and marine. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. "The acquisition of Auction123 will accelerate ARI's growth in our existing vertical markets, introduces ARI into the automotive dealer market, and is consistent with our strategy to grow the business both organically and through strategic acquisitions," said Roy W. Olivier, president and CEO, ARI. "We are excited about the opportunity to cross-sell our other products into Auction123's base of more than 1,200 dealers." Auction123 will maintain its headquarters in Weston, Fla. "We expect the Auction123 acquisition to generate incremental revenue of more than $3 million for the remainder of our fi scal 2017 and be accretive to adjusted EBITDA," said ARI CFO William A. Nurthen.