According to the Minneapolis Business Journal, “Minnesota's reputation as a hub for numerous large public companies took a hit last year, and 2017 isn't starting out well either.”
The business newspaper observed, “Since last spring, at least five large public companies headquartered in Minnesota announced plans to be acquired. Those five are (or were) the state's 16th, 19th, 33rd, 41st and 54th-largest public companies.”
Snowmobile maker Arctic Cat is the most recent—it has announced it is being acquired by Textron Inc., a manufacturer in the aerospace and industrial vehicles market.
In a related article the Business Journal polled its readers with the question, “Are you worried about the loss of Minnesota public-company headquarters?” 51% said, Yes, they were very concerned and an additional 30% said they were somewhat concerned.
Arctic Cat is Minnesota's 41st largest public company.
The Business Journal concluded, “It’s unclear what the loss of such large companies headquartered here means in terms of local employment — the deals don't necessarily affect operations staff (the Arctic Cat acquisition specifically doesn't) but headquarters and administrative staff is often reduced after a buyout.
Arctic Cat just moved to a new downtown head office location last summer in the Minneapolis' trendy North Loop area – leasing a newly renovated, purpose-built heritage building especially designed to showcase the company's motorsport product lines.
Arctic Cat nor Textron has not stated publicly what their head office plans are for the recently purchased snowmobile manufacturer. Textron bought Arctic Cat for $247 million in an all-cash deal announced on Wednesday January 23, 2017.
