ASV, the Grand Rapids, Minn., maker of compact track and skid steer loaders, may be returning to the ranks of Minnesota-based public companies.
ASV LLC filed an initial registration with the Securities and Exchange Commission for an initial public offering that could raise $36 million. If it completes the offering, the 153-employee company will emerge from years of being a subsidiary of much-larger corporate owners.
ASV Inc. was founded in 1983 in Marcell, Minn., and moved its headquarters to Grand Rapids in 1995. The company developed Posi-Track, an innovative rubber-tracked undercarriage system that reduced the ground force impact of traditional steel tracked loaders and wheeled skid steer loaders.
ASV Inc. was a publicly traded company from 1984 until 2008, when it was acquired by Westport, Conn.-based Terex Corp. for $488 million. Terex Corp., a manufacturer of cranes and material handling equipment, had revenue of $8 billion when it purchased ASV. By 2016, its revenue had dropped to $4.4 billion
Prospects for Terex's wholly owned subsidiary ASV suffered a similar slide. At the time of the 2008 acquisition, ASV had annual revenue of $246 million and net income of $22 million. According to the SEC filing, the company in 2016 lost about $1 million on revenue of $104 million. The revenue was down 11.2 percent from 2015.
In 2014, after forming a joint venture with Terex, Bridgeview, Ill.-based Manitex Corp. acquired a 51 percent stake in ASV. In turn, ASV became a Manitex subsidiary.
Lawrence De Maria, an analyst for William Blair & Co., said Terex has been in divestiture mode for awhile.
"They've been focusing on certain core businesses, including cranes and its aerial lift business," De Maria said.
