Bass Pro Buys Ranger, Triton, And Stratos

[Bird Watcher]

Unfortunately...what Bass Pro has done to Mako does not look promising for Ranger...

Pretty much this... Took a great boat with a great reputation and ruined it by cost cutting cheap manufacturing. Not saying it will happen..don't really care.. not in the market for a new fiberglass bass boat nor will I be..but they ruined the Mako's.

Wasn't Babler on here saying that Ranger had went down in quality a lot over the last few years anyhow? Seems to me like the boats with the reputation for high end quality as of recent are still independently owned. This just make the rest of them more "the rest of them".

[slowbait]

Well if your looking to buy a boat in the next few months, better buy a ranger now. Or buy a used ranger and you know you will have the best boat built before they change. lol

[slowbait]

There is nothing wrong with bass pro, but by far the ranger is a better built boat than a nitro. But the nitros have come a long way forward.

[rps]

Whatever happened to the affordable bass boat?

The majority of anglers cant afford a $40-$50k boat.

Aluminum is the answer if you want a good boat below 30k.

[roy_eros]

If you can't beat em...buy em

[Champ188]

This buy out by Basspro might be an exception to the rule of corporate take overs where products suffer. It might actually lower cost and increase quality.

How in heaven's name is Bass Pro gonna improve on the quality of a Ranger boat? Have you LOOKED at Nitro and Ranger side by side? I once considered purchasing a Nitro Z8. Thank goodness I came to my senses. And before anyone says Tracker/Nitro has overcome all of its quality issues, it was only a couple of years ago that the floors in the Z8/Z9 boats were delaminating.

Ranger has nothing to gain here, just as it had nothing to gain 3 years ago when Platinum Equity bought them. It has not been the same since the days it was Wood Manufacturing Co. owned by Forrest and Nina Wood.

I will say, this makes our 2014 Ranger look pretty darn good. Glad we bought a new one when we did.

[dtrs5kprs]

How in heaven's name is Bass Pro gonna improve on the quality of a Ranger boat? Have you LOOKED at Nitro and Ranger side by side? I once considered purchasing a Nitro Z8. Thank goodness I came to my senses. And before anyone says Tracker/Nitro has overcome all of its quality issues, it was only a couple of years ago that the floors in the Z8/Z9 boats were delaminating.

Ranger has nothing to gain here, just as it had nothing to gain 3 years ago when Platinum Equity bought them. It has not been the same since the days it was Wood Manufacturing Co. owned by Forrest and Nina Wood.

I will say, this makes our 2014 Ranger look pretty darn good. Glad we bought a new one when we did.

It makes my paid for 521 look awesome.

[J-Doc]

Aluminum is the answer if you want a good boat below 30k.

Which is what I tell people when they ask me why didn't I get a bass boat. I say.. ."I did. Just a lot cheaper than yours". And my front deck is bigger than your deck"

Lol!!

[fishingaddiction]

The way I see this deal is like all other mergers and buy outs of large Companies. The bottom line is all about the all mighty $$$$$$. The stock holders of Fish Holdings LLC just made a crap load of money for selling their Company. A lot more money than they could make in a lifetime of normal operations. There will be changes that will effect both Fish Holdings and Bass Pro. Time will tell what those changes will be. I just hope they are positive, but have my doubts that they will be beneficial for Ranger, Stratos and Triton.

[Flysmallie]

The stock holders of Fish Holdings LLC just made a crap load of money for selling their Company. A lot more money than they could make in a lifetime of normal operations.

I have been involved in many acquisitions. Just because somebody sells a company does not mean that they make any money. We don't buy any "unsuccessful" companies to bring into our corporation but you would really be surprised what most of these owners walk away with. It really opened my eyes.