It was founded by Valerio Morra in 1980 with his purchase of the company
MBS Spa. In 1987, Argo purchased
Pegoraro Spa of
Vicenza. Sixty-six percent of
Landini was purchased in 1989 from
Massey Ferguson, with additional shares purchased in 1994. In 1995, the tractor business was expanded with the purchase of
Valpadana Spa, followed by S.E.P. Spa and
Laverda in 2000 from
CNH Global. S.E.P. manufactures small, specialty tractors and equipment, while Laverda manufactures combines and hay-equipment. The remaining 9% of Landini that was owned by
AGCO was purchased by Argo in 2000. 2001 saw further growth with the purchase of the
McCormick Tractors name and tractor factory in
Doncaster,
England, after the
merger of
Case IH and
Fiat's
New Holland Ag into
CNH Global. The regulatory bodies after reviewing the merger required some factories to be sold, which included
Laverda from
Fiat, and
McCormick Tractors International from
Case IH. 2007 saw Argo selling 50% of Laverda to AGCO. AGCO bought the remaining 50% of Laverda in late 2010/early 2011, thereby also acquiring
Fella-Werke. ==Brands==