Vista rejects last-ditch offer from U.S. investors, solidifies deal with Czech firm

The Vista Outdoor board of directors said Monday it has rejected what MNC Capital said was its last offer for the Anoka-based company.

Vista called MNC’s $3.2 billion final offer “inadequate and opportunistic” and severely undervalued its outdoor brands unit, Revelyst.

That means the company, as planned, will bring to shareholders on July 23 a plan that would sell its ammunition brands, including Federal and Remington, to Czechoslovak Group (CSG). Under this proposal, Revelyst, which includes the Bell, Fox and CamelBak brands, will spin off into a new public company.

The shareholders meeting has been postponed more than once because of jockeying among the deals.

Also on Monday, Prague-based CSG again raised its offer for the Kinetic Group ammunition business to $2.1 billion. Its original offer in October was $1.91 billion.

The CSG offer has become controversial because the business is Czech-owned. The deal has received necessary approval from the Treasury Department’s Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States.

MNC had emphasized that it is made up of U.S.-based investors. It, like CSG, had raised its offer several times. The final $3.2 billion offer was made on June 26 and was $39.50 a share to $42 a share.

Vista said it is prepared to close on the CSG deal by the end of July once shareholders approve the deal. MNC Capital has said multiple times that its deal would face less regulatory scrutiny and be able to close faster, but Vista said in its release that a deal with MNC Capital would take multiple months to close.