Longtime Minnesota snowmobile maker Arctic Cat sold for $247 million

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/