Winnipeg-based agriculture equipment maker MacDon Industries Ltd. is being sold for $1.2 billion to another Canadian company.

Linamar Corp., which makes precision metallic parts for a range of sectors including automobiles, says it has reached an agreement to buy the 65-year-old Winnipeg company.

MacDon and its group of companies will complement the Guelph, Ont.-based manufacturer's existing agricultural harvesting business in Hungary and allow the company to serve more markets globally, Linmar said in a statement.

Company CEO Linda Hasenfratz says the increased exposure to agriculture comes as the sector is in the early stages of a cyclical recovery, and with strong growth to be driven by a growing and developing global population.

MacDon sells its specialized agricultural harvesting equipment in over 40 countries and has about 1,400 dealers and distributors in its global network.

Linamar, with 59 manufacturing facilities globally and about 24,500 employees, had sales of $6 billion in 2016.