Federal Ammunition owner announces its seventh acquisition in 16 months

Vista Outdoor announced it has acquired Stone Glacier, a Bozeman, Mont.-based maker of clothing gear and packs aimed at guides, outfitters and hunters. It is the seventh acquisition in 16 months for the Anoka-based outdoors and ammunition company.

"Stone Glacier is an enthusiast brand that is fast-growing, well-managed and a great cultural fit," said Chris Metz, CEO of Vista Outdoor.

Vista Outdoor now has 39 brands, 10 of which have more than $100 million in annual revenue. Metz believes within five years that Stone Glacier can be another $100 million brand.

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Vista is a holding company for a number of ammunition companies including Anoka-based Federal and other outdoor products such as Camp Chef outdoor cooking stoves and accessories and Bell and Giro helmets.

Other recent deals include one for the ammunition business of Remington, and a $499 million deal to acquire Foresight Sports, a maker of golf performance analytic and entertainment products — its largest deal to date.

"Stone Glacier, although not a big acquisition, it's as exciting and has as much potential as anything that we've acquired in the outdoor product space," Metz said.

Stone Glacier was founded in 2012 by Kurt Racicot and now has 17 employees. The company has been recognized the last three years by Inc. Magazine as one of the 5,000 fastest growing private companies in America. According to the most recent list, Stone Glacier was ranked 1,452 and its revenue has grown 326% over the previous three years.

"This partnership comes at a great time for our business, and we are excited for the support that Vista Outdoor will provide to accelerate our growth and continue developing industry-leading products," said Jeff Sposito, Stone Glacier's president, in a news release.

Stone Glacier clothing includes articulated elbows and knees to promote active movement and fabrics that are lightweight, quiet, breathable and weather-resistant. Packs are built with durable components to carry a lot of gear in rugged terrain.

Metz discovered the brand several years ago and started using some of its products on his own hunting trips, so he reached out to Racicot and Sposito.

"I liked the product so much I called and introduced myself and said, 'Hey, we need to get to know you guys,'" Metz said. "So over the last three, four years, I've seen these guys double their business every year."

Vista was saddled with debt five years ago and would not have been in position to make the number of deals it has, but a pandemic-fueled surge in its outdoor-product sales, including a steep increase in ammunition sales, has helped the company to aggressively reduce its debt.

Total debt was $1.2 billion in 2017. The company has reduced that by more than half, even after some of its larger acquisitions. Revenue has grown more than 35% in each of the past four quarters.

Earlier this summer, credit rating agency Moody's upgraded Vista Outdoors Corporate Family Rating, citing both its improved operating performance and efforts to reduce its overall debt and leverage ratio.

"We've established ourselves now with the seventh acquisition in the last 16 months as arguably the most acquisitive, and the acquirer of choice in the outdoor-product space," Metz said.

Metz said Vista will continue to use its profit and cash flow to both invest in current brands and continue to build its portfolio of companies by "acquiring new companies that first help our current brands and then secondly get us into near-adjacent spaces," he said.

Shares of Vista Outdoor closed at $43.07 a share on Tuesday, up 4%. The stock price has increased more than 110% over the past 16 months.