The Pohlad family from Minnesota has bought a majority stake in Polaroid for $70 million. The instant camera maker, based in Minnetonka, is now branching out and offering a range of other electronic products.
The $70 million dollar acquisition includes the assumption of $18 million in debt and other liabilities.
Four years ago Polaroid filed for bankruptcy. Tom Petters owned the company, however, after he was convicted of being involved in a Ponzi scheme he was sent to prison.
The Pohlaw-owned investment arm Marquette Companies has now acquired a 65 percent stake in Polaroid.
In a statement to the Minneapolis-based newspaper Star Tribune, Jann Ozzello Wilcox, chief investment officer of Pohlad-owned Marquette Companies, said:
“We are doing this for three reasons,”
Adding:
“First, we continue to seek good, strategic growth opportunities; second, we see Polaroid as an iconic brand with a licensing model that’s working, and third, it’s a local company with a solid management team,”
Polaroid CEO Scott Hardy said:
“This will bring stable family capital to the Polaroid brand over the long-term. This sale will be the next step in the ongoing resurgence of our iconic American brand and we are very excited about what it means for Polaroid in 2015 and beyond.”
