Former Arctic Cat VP and current Argo president Brad Darling, plus an investment group that owns a lot of the privately held Argo/Ontario Gear & Drive corporations, has purchased Arctic Cat. The full press release is below.
According to the release, Darling will lead both companies, which will technically be owned and operated separately. The press release came from the Argo marketing manager.
Terms of Arctic Cat purchase by this group from Textron have yet to be disclosed, but this is HUGE news in the snowmobile market. More details will be released later today on the purchase and Arctic Cat’s 2026 product line later today, so keep checking back.
For details on Argo and its parent company, Ontario Drive & Gear, click here. For details on Arctic Cat’s interesting history, click here.
Everything from here down is the press release.
Renewal of Passion For Generations To Come
(THIEF RIVER FALLS, April 24th, 2025) – Former Arctic Cat executive, Brad Darling, and an Investment Group acquire the Thief River Falls-based manufacturer of snowmobiles, ATVs and Side-by-Sides.
Newly appointed CEO and President of Arctic Cat, Brad Darling is eager to start moving the brand forward, stating “The pursuit of the checkered flag is in Arctic Cat’s DNA. It’s what we were built on. Like anyone who has ever grabbed the throttle – it’s a relentless drive that pushes us forward and sparks our passion. Today is the start of a new chapter, one where Arctic Cat returns to the race, but with a powerful understanding: this race is never-ending, and our intent is to lead.”
Since taking ownership of Arctic Cat in 2017, Textron Specialized Vehicles invested a great deal of time and resources to keep the brand and its technology at the forefront. This dedication was most recently proven with the release of the all-new Arctic Cat 858 C-TEC2™ engine and Catalyst snowmobile chassis.
“We seek to continue Arctic Cat’s investment in its brand, products, people and dealers, extending its positive momentum. As a permanent fixture of Thief River Falls, MN for over 63 years, this iconic brand has benefitted from the passion of not only the employees but also the entire community. We are now able to wipe away any uncertainty and are looking ahead with great excitement,” continued Mr. Darling.
After a 17-year tenure at Arctic Cat, Mr. Darling assumed the role of CEO and President of ARGO in 2016, where he remains today. Founded in 1967, ARGO is the worldwide leader for amphibious Xtreme Terrain Vehicles (XTVs). Their unmistakable 6- and 8-wheeled amphibious vehicles are well known for their ability to “Go Anywhere.”
Mr. Darling will continue to lead both companies into the future while leaning on potential synergies shared within the offroad segment. While each brand will be owned and operated separately, the brand alignment of ARGO alongside Arctic Cat is a perfect match as Arctic Cat’s line of machines bring the passion on and off the trail, while the ARGO adventure starts where the trail ends.
Whether you’re on-trail, off-trail, reaching new elevations or pushing limits on the track, Arctic Cat will be here, ready to support every checkered flag in your future. Arctic Cat is here to Share Our Passion with you for generations to come!
About Arctic Cat
Arctic Cat has been a leader in the offroad industry since 1962. Arctic Cat markets its Snowmobile, ATV and SXS products through a network of independent dealers located throughout the United States and Canada and through distributors representing dealers in Europe, South America, the Middle East, Asia and other international markets.
Great news! Glad it will not die.
Great for the entire industry!
Motorsports are a fun, healthy drug IF done in other than a bone-headed way. Support our merchants GO CAT GO!
This is great news ! We cannot lose another manufacturer in the snowmobile industry. While my current snowmobiles are from the competition I’m excited to see the brand continue! It’s great that the new owners have prior knowledge and experience with the brand and its products. I’m excited to see what the future brings, who knows I might even add one to my fleet of snowmobiles in the future.
THE CAT IS BACK. LONG LIVE THE CAT.
All the manufactures are struggling badly. This will be short lived, sorry to say.
I actually worked at arctic cat after the September 11th attacks, in domestic production of an engine for the ATV, I like in the twin cities and every company here was in the red, and nobody was buying anything.. what they were buying was toys..
Thank you Debbie Downer.
My family Kieper pinned racing is glad cat is back…
That’s great news Arctic Cats have been the machine of choice for many years. Now hopefully they will follow thru with customer support. Any broken fuel tank cracks?
All the manufacturers seem to be leaving a huge segment of the market untapped. For every person who lives in an area where they can ride daily tgere are 100 weekend warriors who cant justify the price of a new sled. They need an adult sized low tech machine at a $6-$7k price point. Not the fastest just a reliable machine with the basics. . Im not paying $14k for a machine ill use 10 times per year. I think many others feel the same way. 600cc , carbed, mechanical reverse, 60 hp, reliable. They will sell a ton
Agreed.
I am a Polaris guy, but glad to hear cat will be running by my side. Thank you Mr darling!
Welcome back artic cat
Xlnt Cat had its best years when in competition they grew their high performance line to lofty hp can’t wait to see what’s in the plans they got to bring the line up to current standards and push it just like they have always done Cat is back no surprise they only used up two of their nine lives great for Thief River Falls
Congrats!
This is great news!.
Please don’t forget us 4 strokers our there!
How bout a 130 hp ish naturally aspirated 3 cylinder that gets 20 mpg no matter what! Eh? 🙂
yes but 150 would be better.
The news of Arctic Cat coming back is super great and well deserved after being around for so many years. My late dad was a huge Arctic Cat fan purchasing his first new 1970 Arctic Cat Panther and in 1973 a brand new 440 Cheetah. Sadly he passed away in 1978 but I carried on his love of Arctic Cats owning several Arctic Cat products over the years . Congratulations to all for bringing back Arctic Cat with many years of joy.
CAT -A-CLYSMIC!!!!!!! Not only is this great news but, sounds like we have someone that understands what the Cat is all about! Being a sledder who has drove Cats for 55 years I can’t wait for what the future will hold,,,,,saddle the pride and giddy up eh.
Jeb,
Open a dealership in Lando now that you’re retired.
Great news. I’ve been riding a cat since 1980.
Quality, Quality, Quality! Reliability, Reliability, Reliability! Follow those two principles and you will be outrageously successful!
Yes but also inexpensive, inexpensive, inexpensive with lots of low cost parts like before i.e. aftermarket or other supplier for fuel and oil filters, belts, sliders, skags, bearings, etc. and keep teh same parts on many models for several years like Polaris did when it was king in the 1970s-1990s.
That’s EXACTLY how Polaris lost the kingship and sales leader – 14 years of exactly the same thing!!
Wrong that is exactly how Polaris stayed on top for so many decades as we could get new and used parts for a great price not like nowadays.
Fantastic that former Arctic Cat executive officer and current Argo CEO who hired so many former Arctic Cat employees in various positions at Argo is the new owner / CEO and a great Canadian as well, home land of snowmobilers as well as a country who values good deals, dependability, reliability, and people who care about people who are loyal and friendly and respect other countries and cultures and people who keep their word and honour and build up others vs tearing them down.
Awesome Canada now owns three brands, Ski-Doo, Lynx and Arctic Cat.
Canada saves Cat.
They will have no issues with supply chain from various countries (eg. Canada, Finland, USA) or Trump Tariff Tax because they are viewed as a loyal, stable, fair, balanced, well educated country, people and leaders who stand bye their word and friends/countries, not their enemies. Polaris may supply issues due to the countries erratic behaviour and reputation towards all other countries.
The 2026 sleds should have new hood badge.
Arctic Cat.
Made in the USA
Saved and Owned by Canada
Brad Darling, Captain Canuk is from the Great White North, a natural leader for an iconic snowmobile brand.
https://ir.brp.com/news-releases/news-release-details/brp-announces-amendment-and-extension-its-term-facility
They should save BRP first. Oh wait, they are bailing them out again….
insert eye roll here