Longtime Minnesota snowmobile maker Arctic Cat sold for $247 million

[TexasTowelie]

Long-struggling Minneapolis-based Arctic Cat is being purchased by Textron Inc. for $247 million in cash, a consolidation coming at a time when sales of all-terrain vehicles and snowmobiles have been under pressure, company officials announced Wednesday.

The sale to Rhode Island-based Textron, a conglomerate whose products include helicopters and golf carts, follows extended turnaround efforts by the Minnesota company that failed to yield consistent profits or greatly excite consumers with new models.

Arctic Cat was founded in northern Minnesota in 1960 and employs about 1,600 people, mostly in a Thief River Falls, Minn., factory, an engine manufacturing plant in St. Cloud and at the company’s new headquarters in the North Loop. Arctic Cat just moved into the new space in August, after the building’s owner invested millions in renovations for Arctic Cat.

In announcing the sale to Textron, company officials said Arctic Cat’s Minnesota facilities are largely expected to stay intact after the deal closes later this year.

Read more: http://www.startribune.com/longtime-minnesota-snowmobile-maker-arctic-cat-sold-for-247m/411748026/

[Wellstone ruled]

1. Again,our Nations

demographics has changed significantly since the Snow Machine Craze of the 70's and 80's. Union Jobs with extra disposable income and free time. Now,Joe Six Pack has to bust his hump with two jobs and Climate Change is for real in the Upper Midwest. How many open Winters have we had in the last 20 years,more than those with enough snow to go Sledding.

Knowing Textron,most of Thief River will be on unemployment within two years. Think Milwaukee Tool and Remington Tool.