Hitachi reduces holding in Hitachi Construction Machinery after Landcros rebrand announcement

The rebranding of Hitachi Construction Machinery to Landcros, announced last week, already signalled that the construction machinery business was set to become more independent from the Japanese conglomerate.

Following that news, Hitachi Ltd announced on 4 November a partial transfer of its shares in Hitachi Construction Machinery Co (HCM) that moves that process further along.

Through the share transfer, Hitachi’s voting rights ownership ratio in Hitachi Construction Machinery will be 18.4%, down from 25.4% previously. The share transfer will be sold to institutional investors mostly in Japan.

That takes it to a level low enough that HCM will no longer be an equity-method associate of Hitachi – that means HCM’s financial results will no longer be included as part of Hitachi’s own financial statements.

Hitachi said the impact of the share transfer on its consolidated financial forecast for the year ending 31 March 2026 is “minimal” and it will use funds obtained through the share transfer to accelerate growth towards its new management plan “Inspire 2027”.

The Landcros brand first appeared at the Bauma exhibition in Munich in Germany this year on a concept excavator, as a prelude to the rebranding announcement at the end of October.