After a year of bargaining and eight adjourned meetings, Vista Outdoor shareholders on Monday overwhelmingly approved the Anoka-based company’s plan to sell its ammunition brands, including Federal, to a Czech company for $2.15 billion and its outdoor brands to a private equity group for $1.125 billion.
After the deal for Vista’s Kinetic Group is completed, new owner Czechoslovak Group (CSG) plans to keep its U.S. ammunitions business headquarters in Anoka. The deal also includes Remington, Speer and CCI.
“CSG welcomes the decision of the Vista Outdoor general meeting, which opens the way to closing the transaction,” said company spokesman Andrej Cirtek in a statement.
The outdoors brands unit, called Revelyst, includes Bell and Giro bicycle accessories, CamelBak water bottles, Camp Chef, Simms Fishing and Bushnell and Foresight golf products. Connecticut-based Strategic Value Partners (SVP) will be the new owner after a brief period of trading as an independent public company.
“We are thrilled to have received overwhelming support from our stockholders for the compelling transaction with CSG,” said Michael Callahan, chairman of the Vista Outdoor board of directors, in a news release.
Both deals will have to complete customary closing conditions before they officially close. CSG’s deal should close before the end of the year. The Revelyst deal should close in January, hence the brief period as a new public company.
The outcome is a result of Vista’s decision in May 2022 to split into two standalone companies. There was quick interest in the ammunitions group, and in October 2023 Vista announced a deal with the Prague-based CSG.
In the 13 months since, CSG raised its bid multiple times as unsolicited offers competed with it and parties, including Vice President-elect JD Vance, expressed concerns the deal should not pass approval by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States. Eventually, CFIUS approved the deal.
