A decade after it was sold by Bombardier to pay down debt, recreational vehicle group BRP Inc. is going public.
The Valcourt, Canada-based firm will not pay dividends under the agreement and will have a dual-class structure in which Bain Capital and “Beaudier Inc.” — the Bombardier and Beaudoin families — will retain multiple voting shares that will grant them control of the company, according to the Montreal Gazette. Each multiple voting share will count as six votes.
The families will exercise control over rail and aircraft manufacturer Bombardier through a similar multiple voting share agreement.
Bain Capital owns 50 percent of the company, the Bombardier/Beaudoin family holds 35 percent and the Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec has the other 15 percent. The three partners will hold all of the multiple voting shares.
The company shut down its jetboat division in Benton, Ill., last September, laying off about 350 people. In May, it said it would transfer the production of all of its watercraft to BRP’s Mexico operations in Juarez and Quetaro by 2015.
The filing said BRP held the leading position worldwide for Ski-Doos and Sea-Doos, its snowmobile and PWC.
The Gazette reported that the filing said BRP will use part of the proceeds to pay down an unspecified amount of the company’s long-term debt of $1.09 billion, which includes a $146 million loan due in June. It also discloses that the Caisse lent BRP $74.9 million in January.
