Jacobs reaches deal to buy back 3 boat brands, Little Falls plant

Minneapolis businessman Irwin Jacobs said Thursday that he's reached a deal with a private equity firm to buy back three boat brands and the huge factory in Little Falls, Minn., where they're produced.

Jacobs is the former CEO of Genmar Holdings, which owned an array of boat assets, including the Larson, Seaswirl and FinCraft brands, but filed for bankruptcy in June and was forced to auction them off earlier this month.

California-based Platinum Equity successfully bid $70 million for the Little Falls operation and the bulk of Genmar's holdings that included 13 brands. Platinum will keep the Ranger, Glastron and FourWinns brands.

Jacobs said that he was "cautiously optimistic" that about 200 to 300 people could be called back to work in Little Falls in the next several months. Five public and private organizations, including the city of Little Falls, have proposed a package of low-interest loans to assist Jacobs with the asset purchase.

J & D Acquisitions will do the deal with Platinum, and that partnership consists of Jacobs Trading Co., a closeout wholesaler, and John Paul DeJoria, who is widely known for his involvement in John Paul Mitchell hair care products.

"Until the transaction closes, we are just not going to comment on any aspect of the deal," Platinum spokesman Mark Barnhill said Thursday. Jacobs said he anticipates the deal will close at the end of next week. Terms were not disclosed.

Jacobs, 68, said: "I spent half of my life with that [Little Falls] company. I want to see it once again be what it was at its best."

The Little Falls plant has been turning out fiberglass boats, and he said it employed 850 to 900 people in recent years.

But boat sales took a nosedive during the recession, and local officials estimate the plant employs about 200 workers now.

The job losses had a ripple effect across the economy, said Carol Anderson, executive director of Community Development of Morrison County. "There were a lot of suppliers locally that supplied products to the company, and they were hurt and they had to lay off people," she said.

"We are overjoyed by the news that the facility now is going to stay open, and that [Jacobs] is planning to hire some more workers," she said. "That gives hope to everyone in the community."

After the Genmar bankruptcy filing, Anderson contacted the company to see what local organizations could do to help save jobs in Little Falls. She coordinated efforts to assemble a low-interest loan package, which includes participation from her nonprofit, the city of Little Falls, state of Minnesota, the Initiative Foundation in Little Falls and the North Central Economic Development Association in Staples, Minn.

"They want to participate in incentivizing us to do this," Jacobs said. He added, "Jacobs Trading is a very solid company with great resources, and it's not leveraged."

The deal covers other assets, including the Triumph boat company in North Carolina and the Seaswirl boat factory in Oregon, which Jacobs expects to sell.

"I'm not sure whether we'll keep the factory in North Carolina, or potentially move [the Triumph production] to Little Falls," Jacobs said. "We have capacity up there and space."

J & D also is buying VEC Technology Inc., in Pennsylvania, which features virtual engineered composites that Jacobs has used in boat building and wants to employ in producing blades for wind turbines.

Yacht companies acquired

"They will be independently run businesses by the management at each location, and they will report directly to me with nobody in between," Jacobs said. "I want these businesses to be entrepreneurial."

Jacobs, who has had his offices in the IDS Center in downtown Minneapolis, also will be on the move next week.

The Wayzata resident is leaving the 28th and 29th floors of the office tower and moving his employees to the Jacobs Trading offices in Hopkins.