"I would like to buy Case New Holland from Fiat," Chief Executive Martin Richenhagen was quoted as saying in an interview published in the paper's Tuesday edition. "But so far I could not persuade (Fiat CEO) Sergio Marchionne to sell."

In December, Agco's CEO said he had talked to Marchionne about buying CNH but failed to persuade the Italian executive to sell out.

In July, he told Reuters he was convinced that any takeover of CNH was "not doable".

Fiat Industrial owns 89 percent of CNH, the owner of the Case and New Holland brands of farm and earthmoving equipment.

Agco, whose brands also include Massey Ferguson, is investing in two factories in China and sees Africa as a growth region in the medium term, Richenhagen said.

Agco's chief said he believed 2011 would be the farm equipment maker's best ever year with 9 percent growth compared with 2010. Agco will likely surpass the $10 billion threshold for sales, Richenhagen said.