Bass Pro set to buy
Flippin boat maker
Bass Pro Group LLC in Springfield, Mo., announced Thursday an agreement to buy Flippin, Ark.-based Fishing Holdings LLC, which makes Ranger, Stratos and Triton boat brands for Platinum Equity. A monetary value of the transaction could not be determined as of Thursday. The deal is also pending regulatory approval and the usual closing conditions.
Bass Pro Shops founder and Chief Executive Officer Johnny Morris and Ranger Boats founder Forrest Wood, both industry leaders, have been fishing together for years and competed in the first National BASS Tournaments.
Once the deal closes, Morris said, Fishing Holdings' portfolio will continue to operate from its Flippin headquarters under the leadership of existing local management, which includes the company's CEO, Randy Hopper, Woods' son-in-law.
"Our goal is to provide the products and services necessary to fuel our collective growth," Morris said in a release from Platinum Equity.
-- Cyd King
23 at Tyson facility
treated at hospitals
Tyson Foods evacuated about 250 employees from the Rogers Chick'n Quick facility Wednesday night after workers smelled ammonia.
Rogers Fire Chief Tom Jenkins said two employees had severe respiratory distress and 23 had miscellaneous minor injuries. Of the 25 who reported injuries, 23 were transported by ambulance to two hospitals.
No evacuations were required of homes or businesses in the area, Jenkins said.
Tyson spokesman Worth Sparkman said all of the employees who sought medical attention were released from observation within a few hours.
"No one wants anything like this to happen but they sometimes do, so we prepare and train for emergencies," he said in a statement.
-- Brian Fanney
14 in index advance;
USA Truck up 6.1%
The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, rose 3.13 to 375.86 Thursday.
"U.S. stocks moved higher Thursday after a strong retail sales number and better-than-expected [unemployment] claims numbers helped to restore confidence in the economy," said John Blackwell, senior vice president and managing director of equity trading at Stephens Inc. in Little Rock. "The Arkansas Index moved upward as 14 stocks advanced and three declined."
USA Truck jumped 6.1 percent in heavy trading.
Tyson Foods gained 2.8 percent in active trading.
Bank of the Ozarks fell 1.5 percent on heavy volume.
P.A.M. Transportation hit a 52-week high.
Total volume of the index was 25.6 million shares.
The index was developed by Bloomberg News and the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette with a base value of 100 as of Dec. 30, 1997.
Business on 12/12/2014