Vista Outdoor (VSTO.N), on Friday agreed to sell itself in parts to two separate buyers for a total of $3.35 billion, including debt, after fending off a hostile suitor that pursued the sporting goods and ammunitions maker for months.Vista struck a deal to sell its sporting goods unit Revelyst to investment firm Strategic Value Partners for $1.1 billion, according to a statement seen by Reuters.It has also agreed to revise the terms of a previously agreed deal to sell its ammunitions business Kinetic to Prague-based defense contractor Czechoslovak Group (CSG).
CSG has raised its offer for Kinetic by $75 million to $2.2 billion. The company, which had initially also agreed to buy a 7.5% stake in Revelyst for $150 million, will no longer do so.Taken together, the two deals value Vista at $45 per share, topping a rival $43 per share offer from MNC Capital, an investment firm led by former Vista board member Mark Gottfredson. MNC has repeatedly attempted to acquire Vista this year.
"The board has worked tirelessly to deliver maximum value to its stockholders, and we are pleased to have reached this agreement with SVP and CSG which helps us achieve that objective," Michael Callahan, chairman of Vista's board of directors, said in the statement.The transaction has been approved by Vista's board of directors. The sale of Revelyst is expected to close by January, subject to regulatory approvals and the completion of the CSG deal.
The complex transaction would need to go to Vista's shareholders for a vote.The company's earlier deal with CSG received mixed recommendations from proxy advisory firms. Glass Lewis recommended that Vista shareholders vote in favor of the proposed merger of the ammunition unit with CSG, while Institutional Shareholder Services recommended a vote against that deal.Minnesota-based Vista is the parent of Federal Ammunition and Remington Ammunition brands, while its outdoor-product brands include Foresight Sports, CamelBak, Bushnell Golf and Simms Fishing.
