The Associated Press
BISMARCK -- Bobcat Co. has been sold to a South Korean firm, its parent company says.
Bermuda-based Ingersoll-Rand Co. Ltd. announced Sunday that it is selling Bobcat and its utility equipment and attachments business units to Doosan Infracore for $4.9 billion in cash.
Ingersoll-Rand announced in May that it was looking into the possible sale or spin-off of North Dakota-based Bobcat, and construction-related businesses that no longer fit the company's long-term plans.
West Fargo-based Bobcat, known for its skid-steer loaders, employs more than 2,600 people in North Dakota. It has plants in Bismarck and Gwinner, in southeast North Dakota, that make machinery for light construction. Bobcat also has operations in the Czech Republic and China.
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Doosan officials could not immediately be reached for comment Monday.
Gov. John Hoeven said he spoke with Ingersoll-Rand, Bobcat and Doosan officials on Monday. Yongmaan Park, Doosan's chief executive officer, told Hoeven there would be no changes to Bobcat's presence in North Dakota.
"The priority question for us is if they would continue operations in North Dakota," Hoeven said. "He indicated that is the case."
Paul Dickard, an Ingersoll-Rand spokesman in Woodcliff Lake, N.J., said other companies also submitted bids to buy Bobcat. He would not name them.
Doosan is "already strong in the Asian market and they are looking to become a global player," Dickard said. "I think they view Bobcat as a significant opportunity to establish that presence."
Tom Ricker, president of the United Steelworkers Local 560 in Gwinner, said workers at the plant were notified of the sale on Monday.
"There are a lot of unknowns," Ricker said. "There are rumors or fears that the plant would be closing and moving overseas, but I don't have any foundation to know whether that's the case or not."
Ricker said he has reservations about the plant being sold to an Asian company.
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"I don't have a warm, fuzzy feeling about that," he said. "But there are many American companies running overseas looking for cheap labor, so I guess it doesn't matter. We'll be willing to work with them if they are willing to work with us, as long as they honor our contract."
Jeremy Bauer, president of Steelworkers Local 566 in Bismarck, said workers at the plant shared the same worries as those in Gwinner.
"There is uncertainty, and we're hoping for the best, of course," Bauer said.
Sens. Byron Dorgan and Kent Conrad, D-N.D., said they spoke on Monday with Herbert L. Henkel, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Ingersoll.
"He indicated to me that Doosan intends to keep the manufacturing plants open in North Dakota," Dorgan said.
"I'm somewhat surprised they are selling Bobcat to a South Korean company," Dorgan said. "I always have concerns and am nervous about the risk of American manufacturing jobs being moved to Asia."
Said Conrad, "Obviously, we've got a lot at stake here. Mr. Henkel told me no intention of moving operation somewhere else. But all of us know enough to be on guard."
Doosan paid "a real premium price" for the company, Conrad said. "Obviously, they are bullish on the future of Bobcat."
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Doosan officials are expected to tour the plants in North Dakota next week, Dorgan and Hoeven said.
Ingersoll-Rand said in a statement that it will shift its business focus to global climate control, industrial and security markets. The proceeds of the sale will go toward enhancing those lines, Ingersoll-Rand said.
"We will use the proceeds of the sale to make acquisitions that enhance the geographic reach, product lines, and manufacturing capabilities of our strategic business platforms, and we will augment organic growth by funding innovation and new product efforts," Henkel said.
Bobcat and the construction-related businesses generated $2.6 billion in revenues last year.
Ingersoll-Rand said the sale includes plants in North Dakota, Georgia, Minnesota, Virginia, China, the Czech Republic, France, Ireland and Wales. The company said the businesses in the sale have about 5,700 workers worldwide.
The deal is expected to close early in the fourth quarter, Dickard said.
Bobcat began 60 years ago as Melroe Manufacturing, making a skid-steer loader to clean turkey barns in southeastern North Dakota. Ingersoll-Rand bought Bobcat in 1995, from Clark Equipment Co.
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