SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Bass Pro Shops is bringing jobs back to the United States and, more importantly, to Missouri after acquiring water sports brand Hobie.
The exact date of the sale and the dollar amount were not disclosed.
Bass Pro purchased Hobie Cat Company from a private equity group led by Maynard Industries CEO Taso Sofikitis.
Hobart “Hobie” Alter started his company in 1950 in the garage of parents’ summer home in Laguna Beach, California, shaping surfboards. He expanded to designing and building catamarans in the 1960s. Alter sold the business in 1976 to the Coleman Company. He died in March 2014 at age 80.
Hobie production will be moved to Lebanon, Missouri, near Bass Pro Shops’ headquarters in the Ozarks.
According to a news release from Bass Pro Shops, it’s unclear when local production will start. The number of new jobs was also not disclosed.
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