Conglomerate Textron Inc. has agreed to buy OmniQuip International for $21 per share for a total of $477 million.

Textron will pay $308 million and assume $169 million in debt for OmniQuip, North America's largest supplier of telescoping material handlers under the Lull and Sky Trak brands. Other companies under the OmniQuip umbrella include Snorkel aerial work platforms, Scat Trak skid steers and mini-excavators, and Compact Technologies material handling equipment.

Port Washington, Wis.-based OmniQuip had been facing financial woes because of slow sales and labor troubles, the company said. Also cited was an unsuccessful organizing attempt by the United Auto Workers Union and the International Association of Machinists at the company's Lull and Snorkel businesses that hurt output.

Textron president John Janitz said OmniQuip "will benefit from Textron's manufacturing processes, materials sourcing and distribution networks in international markets."

OmniQuip projects $520 million in sales for 1999 with product demand expected to increase 10 percent to 20 percent per year, according to the company.

Textron is a $10.5 billion company with aircraft, automotive, industrial manufacturer and financial divisions.

"With Textron's strong financial backing, we will be able to grow OmniQuip's business at a much faster pace than we would have been able to on our own," said P. Enoch Stiff, president and CEO of OmniQuip.

Providence, R.I.-based Textron has purchased 39 companies since 1992 with pro forma revenues of approximately $6.5 billion.