Anoka’s Vista Outdoor, which includes Federal ammunition, receives $2.9B acquisition bid

Federal ammunition and the rest of Anoka-based Vista Outdoor are in play again.

The company said Friday that it has received a $2.9 billion offer from Dallas-based MNC Capital Partners, which would compete with an existing deal with a Czech company.

In October, Vista said it was selling the century-old Federal and its other ammunitions brands to Czech-based CSG Group for about $1.9 billion. But the deal has come under some scrutiny because it needs approval from the federal Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS).

MNC Capital said its acquisition of Vista would have an easier path to completion because it wouldn’t need regulatory approval from CFIUS.

Vista said it would respond to MNC’s unsolicited bid next week.

MNC’s offer of $35 a share includes Vista’s outstanding debt.

Vista originally planned to split into two — with the ammunition brands forming the Kinetic Group and remaining headquartered in Anoka. With the CSG deal, Vista still planned to spin the outdoors products businesses into a new public company.

MNC stressed that it is a U.S. business.

“Our proposal would enable the Kinetic Group to stay American-owned with long-term U.S. shareholders aligned with the interests of America’s national security, consumers, and international allies,” MNC’s managing director Mark Gottfredson wrote in the deal letter to Vista.

Gottfredson belonged to Vista’s board of directors from 2015 until he resigned on Jan. 15.

In November, another Czech company, Colt CZ, made an unsolicited bid to acquire Vista’s entire operation. But the offer was quickly rejected, and Vista continued with the CSG Group deal.

Shares of Vista Outdoor closed Friday at $33.23 a share, up 6.5%.