A second firm seeks deal with Vista

Nov. 28—A second company is seeking a deal with Vista Outdoor, the parent company of ammunition maker CCI/Speer, one of Lewiston's largest employers.

Vista Outdoor received an "unsolicited proposal" from Colt CZ Group SE that involves the two companies combining in a stock and cash transaction where each share of Vista Outdoor common stock would be assigned a value of $30, according to a news release from Vista Outdoor issued the evening before Thanksgiving.

As of Oct. 30, Vista Outdoor had 58,071,728 shares of common stock outstanding, according to documents filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Colt CZ Group SE is a joint stock company organized under the laws of the Czech Republic, according to SEC filings.

This offer follows one made in October by a manufacturer called the Czechoslovak Group (CSG). That company wants to buy Vista Outdoor's ammunition-making operations for $1.91 billion in an all-cash acquisition that would close next year.

The Vista Outdoor board of directors is committed to acting in the best interest of shareholders as it reviews the Colt CZ proposal, according to the Vista Outdoor news release.

It will follow its fiduciary duties under the existing agreement with Czechoslovak Group in consultation with its financial and legal advisers, according to the Vista news release.

"Vista Outdoor's board of directors has not made any determination with respect to the Colt CZ proposal within the framework contemplated by the existing merger agreement with CSG, which remains in effect, nor has it changed its recommendation in support of the acquisition of its Sporting Products business by CSG," according to the Vista news release.

CSG is the fourth-largest ammunition maker in the European Union and also produces items such as army trucks and radars, according to Forbes.com.

About 1,400 of the 4,500 employees in Vista Outdoor's Sporting Products segment work at Lewiston's CCI/Speer.

The other Sporting Products brands are Federal, HEVI-Shot and Remington. Together they are the largest ammunition producer in the United States.

Vista Outdoor brands for recreation such as Camelbak, Camp Chef and Simms are not part of the CSG deal. They would become part of a company called Revelyst.

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