Bass Pro buys Cabelas

[tcbass]

d**n. I hope they don't convert  to Bass Pro stores. Cabelas always had great clothing while Bass Pros clothes suck in quality. Just heard this on the radio. 

 

[Darren.]

Yup, it's official. $5.5 billion. Stinks.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2016/10/03/bass-pro-shops-cabelas-acquisition/91459212/

[Felix77]

I am extremely torn ... One big fish eaten by a bigger one .... somehow i'm afraid we are going to pay for it somehow.   I like both for very different reasons.

[Preytorien]

These kinds of things rarely end up benefiting the consumer. I hope this is an exception to the trend. 

I wonder what will happen to the Cabela's Outpost closest to me? It's the only really good place for gear, although I don't ever seem to spend as much there as my wife thinks I do  

[thebillsman]

d**n. I'm smack dab between two great Cabela's locations. It's always a bit of a spectacle to go in there. My closest BassPro is a total joke; poor inventory and store layout. I'm just hoping BassPro doesn't close my preferred Cabela's. 

Acquiring your biggest competitor is a nightmare for consumers. I don't know if it will truly effect us, as online pricing and convenience is the biggest threat to brick and mortar stores. I'll always support my local tackle shop, but the vast variety and awesome experience will be missed.

[roadwarrior]

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2016/10/03/bass-pro-shops-cabelas-acquisition/91459212/

http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/10/03/bass-pro-shops-to-acquire-cabelas-in-5-5b-deal.html

 

[Burtonxj]

Have a Cabelas currently being built in Gainesville. Guess I'll be keeping an eye on that.

[Brett's_daddy]

I always make it a point to visit the Cabelas flagship store in Hamburg, PA when I go down to visit my Dad a couple of times a year...I hope they leave that alone as it's perfect just the way it is! I wonder if somebody will appose this and call it monopolizing the industry?

[fishballer06]

21 minutes ago, Brett's_daddy said:

I hope they leave that alone as it's perfect just the way it is! I wonder if somebody will appose this and call it monopolizing the industry?

Who would oppose $5.5 billion???

 

This has been in the talks for over a year now. I'll be curious to see how this turns out in the long run. Both places are already very overpriced compared to most online tackle places, however the Cabelas clothing has always been decent quality and fairly priced. Regardless of pricing, the stores are always fun to visit. It would be a shame if they close some of the Cabelas stores and all those people lose their jobs. 

[jr231]

I personally hate that the cabelas are popping up everywhere. There are 3 around me here where I live in ohio. And they all are nowhere near the one I love in Dundee Michigan. It's like they just slap a building up and throw the cabelas name on it. I think they should have built a huge one instead of having 3 In an hour's radius. 

Their (fishing ) selection was poor too. I went in there looking for three things.. rage tail, screw in cone sinkers for t rig, and rapala xrap shad. Which they had none of. 

I'll just stick to ordering off line and going to that one in Dundee when I make it back to Michigan. 

[jr231]

Are they changing all the cabelas stores over to bass pro name ? I always liked cabelas more... even though they are both aimed at upper middle class. 

[thebillsman]

30 minutes ago, fishballer06 said:

Who would oppose $5.5 billion???

 

This has been in the talks for over a year now. I'll be curious to see how this turns out in the long run. Both places are already very overpriced compared to most online tackle places, however the Cabelas clothing has always been decent quality and fairly priced. Regardless of pricing, the stores are always fun to visit. It would be a shame if they close some of the Cabelas stores and all those people lose their jobs. 

I see it the other way. Cabela's is usually a dollar cheaper than my local tackle shop on any given item. Obviously they can't compete with eBay but my local tackle stores always have a higher mark up, I would assume because of less volume.

56 minutes ago, Brett's_daddy said:

I always make it a point to visit the Cabelas flagship store in Hamburg, PA when I go down to visit my Dad a couple of times a year...I hope they leave that alone as it's perfect just the way it is! I wonder if somebody will appose this and call it monopolizing the industry?

Love it there.

[Brett's_daddy]

I hope they just bought Cabelas but will leave the stores operating under the Cabelas name! I think changing them all over to Bass Pro Shops would alienate a lot of customers (myself included) who have always preferred Cabelas over Bass Pro. The Cabelas clothing has always been better quality and honestly I think on most smaller things like bait & tackle they've been competitively priced but larger items may be more over priced. Still, they sell quality stuff and not junk so that's good.

[punch]

I don't think we'll see much change from either company honestly. Usually when these acquisitions occur things change organizationally and and on the back end for employees, but on the store level things don't change. At least not for a long time. BPS knows not to rock the boat because of the FUD that happens after these big mergers. They know Cabela's customers will be on edge and it wouldn't be in their best interest to make any noticeable changes. Pretty sure things will continue at standard operating procedure at both stores. Maybe they will join the two credit card/points programs into one? Seems like a no brainer. 

13 minutes ago, Yeajray231 said:

Are they changing all the cabelas stores over to bass pro name ? I always liked cabelas more... even though they are both aimed at upper middle class. 

No. 

[fishballer06]

6 minutes ago, Brett's_daddy said:

I hope they just bought Cabelas but will leave the stores operating under the Cabelas name! I think changing them all over to Bass Pro Shops would alienate a lot of customers (myself included) who have always preferred Cabelas over Bass Pro. The Cabelas clothing has always been better quality and honestly I think on most smaller things like bait & tackle they've been competitively priced but larger items may be more over priced. Still, they sell quality stuff and not junk so that's good.

I can't foresee them dumping the Cabelas name and stores completely. The name is too well known and valuable (hence why they wanted to buy them out, I'm sure). It will be interesting to see what they do with their in house brands, Redheads/Herters.

[JustJames]

That is not good if BPS changes all cabela to BPS brand. I shop both but sometime cabela's cheaper plus no tax for me.

[jr231]

Not even going to ask why you're tax exempt 

[2tall79]

The two stores are only 19 miles apart south of Seattle.  I wonder if one has to go.

[CybrSlydr]

http://www.cnbc.com/2016/10/03/bass-pro-shops-to-buy-cabelas-for-6550-a-share-in-cash.html

Fishing and hunting equipment chain Cabela's said it agreed to be bought by Bass Pro Shops in a deal valued at $5.5 billion that will help the privately held company nearly double its store count in North America.

The offer of $65.50 per share is a 19.2 percent premium to Cabela's close on Friday.

Shares of Cabela's jumped nearly 15 percent to $63.00 in early trading, their highest in more than a year. Up to Friday close, they had risen 17 percent since the company said in December it was exploring strategic alternatives.

Cabela's has struggled with declining sales of apparel and footwear and has reported same-store sales growth in only one quarter in more than three years.

The retailer had been under pressure from activist hedge fund Elliott Associates L.P, which disclosed an 11.1 percent stake in October last year, to pursue strategic alternatives.

Reuters reported on Sunday that a consortium of Bass Pro Shops, Goldman Sachs Group's private equity arm and Capital One Financial was in the lead to buy the company.

The combined company will own 184 stores in the United States and Canada.

Cabela's also agreed to sell its credit card business called "World's Foremost Bank" to Capital One Financial Corp, which will forge a 10-year partnership with Bass Pro Shops to issue credit cards to Cabela's customers.

Capital One spokeswoman Pam Girardo said terms of the transaction would not be disclosed.

Bass Pro Shops founder and CEO Johnny Morris will continue as CEO and majority shareholder of the combined company, which will remain private.

Bass Pro Shops will finance the deal through preferred equity financing commitments of $1.8 billion from Goldman Sachs and $600 milllion Pamplona Capital Management.

Springfield, Missouri-based Bass Pro Shops has long been in the running to acquire Cabela's.

J.P. Morgan Chase advised Bass Pro Shops and Guggenheim Securities advised Cabela's.

[blckshirt98]

No Cabela's anywhere near where I live, I just hope BPS leaves the Cabela's online sale structure the same - Cabela's Bargain Bin usually has a huge selection of items, while BPS is usually just one page of BPS branded items.

[j bab]

They're keeping the Cabela's brand.

Looks like they're keeping the employees too as of now, though I'm sure some management will be replaced or at the very least re-trained.

I work at a Cabela's, so if I find out anything else I'll share here  

[ChrisD46]

I like Bass Pro fishing equipment and lure brands better than Cabela's branded fishing equipment- otherwise  for hunting and clothing  it's Cabela's all the way . * I think Bass Pro should take over Cabela's fishing department (too much Walleye stuff) , bring in their bass boats and leave the rest alone !!

[smalljaw67]

What scares me is the Cabela's Club Visa I have. I can rack up points until I decide to use them, when I had the Bass Pro Shops reward Visa, I had to use my points within a year or lose them. If capital one changes the card I won't use it anymore and all my purchases will be made online through TW.

[Montanaro]

My cabelas has terrible rod/reel and lure selection...just terrible.

 

Hopefully this changes things

[The Fisher]

One word..Online...Two words Tackle Warehouse