Family in Minnesota Buys Majority Stake in Polaroid for $70 Million

polaroid

Here’s some news that flew under our radar late last year: in December 2014, a family in Minnesota became the majority owner of Polaroid through a $70 million deal.

With a name befitting the company, the Pohlad family — one of Minnesota’s wealthiest families and the owners of the Twins baseball team — purchased the stake from the bankruptcy estate that was overseeing the assets through the bankruptcy transition.

After the bankruptcy protection filing in 2008, private investors snapped up many of Polaroid’s shares and assets, but the estate held onto a big chunk. The Pohlads purchased that chunk and some additional shares from other investors, bringing their stake to about 65% of the whole company.

There are three reasons for the acquisition, the family tells the Star Tribune. They are seeking strategic growth opportunities for the company, licensing opportunities for the iconic brand, and turning it into a local company with a “solid management team.”

Polaroid is currently based in Minnetonka, Minnesota with a headquarters of less than 25 employees. The company says that this sale is “the next step in the ongoing resurgence of [its] iconic American brand.”

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