APi Group leads firms poised for Star Tribune 50 debut in '21

New Brighton-based APi Group's transition to a U.S. public company was too late to be added to this year's Star Tribune 50. Next year, though, it is expected to debut in the top 15 with annual revenue of $3.5 billion to $4 billion.

APi Group's roots go back to 1926, and its family of companies includes more than 30 industrial and construction service companies. It had some of its greatest growth under CEO Lee Anderson in the 1980s and 1990s.

Last fall, it was acquired by a special purpose acquisition group, J2 Acquisition Ltd., for $2.9 billion. J2 Acquisition was listed in the British Virgin Islands but earlier this year it completed a domestication and registered under the corporate laws of Delaware while also formally listing its shares on the New York Stock Exchange. In the merger, J2 adopted the APi Group name and its corporate headquarters in New Brighton.

Vista Outdoor made the Star Tribune 50 list this year after it moved its corporate headquarters to Anoka — home of its largest outdoor brand, Federal Ammunition — from its previous headquarters in Utah. It debuts at No. 24.

To keep the Star Tribune 50 list as robust as possible we have included companies that may officially be headquartered elsewhere but have management offices and significant presences here. Those companies include Metronic PLC, Pentair PLC, nVent Electric PLC and Stratasys LTD. Last year we added Investors Real Estate Trust, whose executive offices are in Minneapolis while corporate offices are still listed in Minot, N.D.

This year, we added WPT Industrial Real Estate Investment Trust, officially a Toronto company. The company initially listed on the Toronto stock exchange seven years ago when it was a lot smaller. WPT's common shares are now dual-listed on the Toronto and Nasdaq stock exchanges. The REIT owns a portfolio of 102 industrial properties, mainly high-tech distribution and logistics centers, across 20 U.S. states. Management headquarters have always been in Minneapolis. "The growth of e-commerce has really been the driver behind our business," said WPT's CEO Scott Frederiksen.

Lost this year is Mosaic Co., the potash and phosphate crop nutrient company that last year moved its headquarters to Tampa, Fla., to be closer to production facilities there. Mosaic has $8.9 billion in annual revenue and would have ranked No. 13 behind Hormel Foods.

Also dropping off the list is ASV Holdings, the Grand Rapids-based maker of compact track and skid-steer loaders. It was acquired in September by Yanmar America Corp., a subsidiary of a Japanese conglomerate.

Patrick Kennedy