Dallas-based Sammons Enterprises, parent company of Briggs Equipment, has agreed to acquire the material handling division of Finning UK Ltd. for about 85 million pounds (U.S. $160 million), in a deal expected to close at the end of this month. The new business will be known as Briggs Equipment UK Limited. For Briggs, the acquisition represents its first major entry into the European market.

”The sale of this division will allow us to focus on those U.K. businesses that are more closely associated with our Caterpillar equipment-related core strengths,” said Finning CEO Doug Whitehead. “These include Finning U.K.’s Caterpillar dealership for England, Scotland and Wales, as well as Hewden, the largest provider of rental solutions for the U.K. construction industry, and Diperk UK, the distributor of Perkins engines and parts in the United Kingdom.

Finning’s chief financial officer Mike Waites said proceeds from the sale will initially be used to repay debt. “With our very strong financial position, we are well placed to consider future growth opportunities for Finning,” Waites said.

Briggs Equipment UK will be a subsidiary within the equipment distribution division of Sammons Enterprises, along with Dallas-based Briggs Equipment and Tampa, Fla.-based Briggs Construction Equipment.

Briggs Equipment has 19 locations in the southern United States and Mexico, and is one of the largest equipment distribution companies in the U.S.

Briggs Construction Equipment has 22 locations in the south and southeastern U.S. and is the largest Case construction equipment dealer in North America.

The two U.S. divisions of Briggs are major rental players and the combined company is No. 19 on the RER 100, based on 2005 rental volume of $121.1 million and total volume of $484.5 million.

Veteran Briggs executive Dave Bratton will serve as director of Briggs Equipment U.K. “This acquisition has excellent potential for the employees and customers as well as the equipment distribution division of Sammons,” said Bratton. “We see a number of similarities between Briggs Equipment UK and the Briggs Equipment operations in the U.S. and Mexico. I anticipate that we will learn from each other, using the best practices of both companies to set the standard in material handling.”

Briggs Equipment UK will operate one of the largest material handling businesses in the United Kingdom with a fleet of 25,000 lift trucks and about 1,000 employees. Briggs Equipment UK is now the sole national distributor of Cat-branded lift trucks’ warehouse and counterbalance equipment in the U.K.