Arctic Cat, which was nearly dead a year ago, has rebuilt operations and is now buying the assets of another snowmobile maker.
The Thief River Falls, Minn., company now owns the properties and products of Widescape, which makes stand-up snowmobiles, from its Quebec base.
Terms of the deal announced Jan. 6 were not disclosed.
By the time former Arctic Cat executive Brad Darling led an investment firm that bought Arctic Cat in April 2025, former corporate owner Textron had shut down the snowmobile maker’s operations and laid off most employees. Textron had paid $247 million in cash for the company in 2017.
Darling became chief executive and over the summer rebuilt Arctic Cat’s management, sales and manufacturing teams both at the Thief River Falls and St. Cloud operations. The company launched new products and re-established relationships with dealers. Then it got to work making the machines.
In November, Arctic Cat announced its return to snowmobile racing where a lot of product innovation traditionally has been created, developed and tested. The return to racing helped cement for riders Darling’s commitment to the powersports company.
At the end of the year, Darling brought back Roger Skime, a legendary engineer and designer — Arctic Cat employee No. 5 — as a brand ambassador.
“With his passion for snowmobiling, racing and innovation, Roger embodies the Arctic Cat spirit perhaps better than anybody on Earth,” Darling said.
