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Old 11-21-2008, 09:45 AM   #1
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"Coachmen to Sell RV Unit to Berkshire's Forest River

By Alex Lange

Nov. 21 (Bloomberg) -- Coachmen Industries Inc., the maker of Viking travel trailers and manufactured houses, agreed to sell most of its recreational-vehicle business to Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. for undisclosed terms.

The sale to Berkshire's Forest River Inc. is subject to shareholder approval, which Coachmen plans to seek in December, according to a statement today.

The move comes as elevated fuel prices and tighter credit erode RV sales, depressing Middlebury, Indiana-based Coachmen's shares and prompting cost cutting. The company said Forest River agreed to offer jobs to almost 85 percent of the unit's employees in Indiana, and that some will be transferred to Coachmen's continuing operations.

The announcement will ``end the speculation over whether Coachmen itself will survive these extraordinarily difficult times,'' Chief Executive Officer Richard Lavers said in the statement.

The sale includes brands, product lines, the central manufacturing operations in Middlebury and a dealership in Elkhart, Indiana, Coachmen said. The transaction doesn't include a bus line that Coachmen introduced this year.

Forest River manufactures leisure and towable vehicles."

Let's hope that Winnebago has no problems in weathering out this financial storm...
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Old 11-21-2008, 09:45 AM   #2
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"Coachmen to Sell RV Unit to Berkshire's Forest River

By Alex Lange

Nov. 21 (Bloomberg) -- Coachmen Industries Inc., the maker of Viking travel trailers and manufactured houses, agreed to sell most of its recreational-vehicle business to Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. for undisclosed terms.

The sale to Berkshire's Forest River Inc. is subject to shareholder approval, which Coachmen plans to seek in December, according to a statement today.

The move comes as elevated fuel prices and tighter credit erode RV sales, depressing Middlebury, Indiana-based Coachmen's shares and prompting cost cutting. The company said Forest River agreed to offer jobs to almost 85 percent of the unit's employees in Indiana, and that some will be transferred to Coachmen's continuing operations.

The announcement will ``end the speculation over whether Coachmen itself will survive these extraordinarily difficult times,'' Chief Executive Officer Richard Lavers said in the statement.

The sale includes brands, product lines, the central manufacturing operations in Middlebury and a dealership in Elkhart, Indiana, Coachmen said. The transaction doesn't include a bus line that Coachmen introduced this year.

Forest River manufactures leisure and towable vehicles."

Let's hope that Winnebago has no problems in weathering out this financial storm...
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Old 11-21-2008, 03:11 PM   #3
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Luckily for Coachman, they had the brand and the assets to be acquired by a stronger player. However, any way you slice it, there are going to be fewer brands when this recession is over.

As for Winnebago Industries, they're a smart company that knows that every time a company fails, they have one less competitor. The RV industry has always been highly competitive. With the current economy, failures and consolidations are going to be a common event.

Jack
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Old 11-21-2008, 05:58 PM   #4
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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Richard 34A:

Let's hope that Winnebago has no problems in weathering out this financial storm... </div></BLOCKQUOTE>I agree. Winn make a great product and their customer service is second to none. Some other company's could learn from them. IMO Safe Travels
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Old 12-01-2008, 08:02 PM   #5
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Winnebago is sure spreading out their work. We ordered a Suncruiser on 10/15 and it isn't due to come off the line until 2/2.
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Old 12-02-2008, 02:17 AM   #6
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I hear you. I order took one on their lot, and wanted an oven put in it, and a different couch. Took them 3 weeks. To make the 2 changes. I guess they do not make that particular couch we ordered. It was a down grade. I had thought they did all their furniture.
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