Vista board unanimously backs deal

The Vista Outdoor board is unanimously backing a deal for the Czechoslovak Group to acquire its ammunition-making operations after the company upped its offer from $2 billion to $2.1 billion.

The proposal from the Czech Republic-based, privately-held Czechoslovak Group is still subject to a stockholder vote. That vote is set for July 23, according to a news release issued Monday by Vista Outdoor.

Vista Outdoor and the Czechoslovak Group are prepared to close the deal by the end of the month if Vista wins shareholder approval and satisfies other standard closing conditions, according to Vista Outdoor’s news release.

It has received all the regulatory approvals required for it, according to Vista Outdoor’s news release.

One of them was from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, which reviews certain transactions to determine their effect on national security.

Called The Kinetic Group, Vista Outdoor’s ammunition brands, including Lewiston’s CCI/Speer, Federal, Remington and HEVI-Shot, are the largest maker of ammunition in the country.

If the deal for them closes, Vista Outdoor’s recreation brands would be spun off into a separate publicly traded company called Revelyst.

At the same time, the Vista Outdoor board unanimously rejected a bid from Dallas-based MNC Capital Partners for the entire company, including its ammunition plants and outdoor brands such as Camelbak, according to Vista Outdoor’s Monday news release.

Vista confirmed last week it received documentation it requested from MNC Capital Partners about its proposal. MNC Capital is led by former Vista Outdoor board member Mark Gottfredson, as reported by the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

MNC Capital Partners had delivered an agreement to Vista Outdoor last week that it was prepared to sign for its $42 per share deal along with commitment letters about the proposed debt and equity financing for its proposal that totals about $3.2 billion, according to a news release from MNC Capital Partners.

Vista Outdoor gave MNC Capital access to about 4,900 documents, answered more than 1,050 data requests and held more than 35 meetings or calls, according to the Vista Outdoor Monday news release.

“Despite these efforts, MNC’s final indication significantly undervalues Vista Outdoor as a whole and especially the Revelyst business,” according to the Vista Outdoor news release.

The decision to back the Czechoslovak Group proposal follows a “competitive and exhaustive, multi-stage process, including outreach to 26 potential buyers,” according to the Vista Outdoor news release.

The Czechoslovak Group is an industrial holding company that is the fourth-largest ammunition producer in the European Union, according to Forbes.com.

In addition to ammunition, its products include special army trucks and active radars, according to Forbes.

The company’s owner and CEO, Michal Strnad, 31, a married car and motorsport enthusiast, has a net worth of $4.4 billion, according to Forbes.com.

In 2018, Strnad inherited the company from his father, who had founded it in 1995, according to Forbes.com.

Williams may be contacted at ewilliam@lmtribune.com or (208) 848-2261.