Bass Pro Shops Acquires Cabelas!

[The Pond King]

Pretty crazy!

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

 

Bass Pro Shops has reached a deal to acquire outdoors retail competitor Cabela's and take the company private in a deal valued at $4.5 billion,  the companies said Monday.

The deal unites two outdoor supply superstores aimed at catering to every need of those who hunt, fish, camp or otherwise venture into the wilderness. It was not immediately clear whether the acquisition would result in any store closures, but the companies said in a statement that Springfield, Mo.-based Bass Pro Shops would "celebrate and grow" the Cabela's brand.

The deal comes about 10 months after Sidney, Neb.-based Cabela's effectively put itself up for sale at the urging of hedge fund Elliott Management, which had declared the hunting-and-fishing retailer undervalued and called for the company to consider a sale or reorganization.

Privately held Bass Pro Shops will pay $65.50 per share in cash for Cabela's, representing a premium of 19.2% over Friday's closing price. Cabela's had 68,909,403 shares outstanding as of its disclosure in a corporate filing.

Cabela's shares rose 15% Monday, closing at $63.18.

Long known for large-format destination stores, Cabela's has lost ground to smaller, nimbler competitors and online retailers. Sales at stores open at least a year fell ***% in the first half of 2016, compared to a year earlier, according to a securities filing.

The number of purchases at Cabela's stores fell 8.1% during that period, reflecting a drop-off in foot traffic as customers bought less clothing and footwear from the retailer, although hunting sales increased and average revenue per transaction rose 8.2%.

The deal marks a dramatic expansion of the outdoor retailing empire controlled by Bass Pro Shops CEO Johnny Morris, who founded the company in 1972. The billionaire will lead the newly combined entity as CEO and will retain majority ownership.

Bass Pro Shops has about 99 stores and 20,000 employees. Cabela's has about 85 stores and had about 19,700 employees at the end of 2015, according to a securities filing.

Representatives for Cabela's and Bass Pro Shops did not respond to requests seeking comment, questions about potential store closures or interviews with executives.

"The story of each of these companies could only have happened in America, made possible by our uniquely American free enterprise system," Morris said in a statement. "We have enormous admiration for Cabela’s, its founders and outfitters, and its loyal base of customers."

Cabela's CEO Tommy Millner said the company's board had unanimously backed the sale after "a thorough strategic review."

Bass Pro Shops said it plans to maintain Cabela's operations in Sidney and Lincoln, Neb. "and hopes to continue the very favorable connections to those communities and the Cabela’s team members residing there."

The companies said they expect the deal to be approved in the first half of 2017.

[greentrout]

Cabela's was struggling. Aggressively expanded its brick and mortar business and got hit with the too many expensive leases and not enough revenue to cover all the expenses it incurred.

Will be interesting to see what Bass Pro does with the company. Bet they don't keep all the stores and will stream line the present Cabela's management from the top to the bottom.

Big bet by Bass Pro. Not so sure more brick & mortar is the way to go. But Johnny Morris has had a golden touch so far. Hope it continues.

[j bab]

Might wanna check out one of the posts already made about this

[hoosierbass07]

Cabelas opened up a small store near Indy last year.  I went once but was not impressed, mainly because I know have access to a Gander Mountain store and a new Academy store which are only twenty/thirty minutes away.  That Cabelas is a good two hour drive from me.  I do like Cabelas magazines though. 

[frosty]

5 hours ago, hoosierbass07 said:

Cabelas opened up a small store near Indy last year.  I went once but was not impressed, mainly because I know have access to a Gander Mountain store and a new Academy store which are only twenty/thirty minutes away.  That Cabelas is a good two hour drive from me.  I do like Cabelas magazines though. 

The wife and I went to the cabelas in Dundee mi, it's a really nice store. The one in fishers/nobelsville doesn't have as much to see. I got to visit the bps in Clarksville a couple weeks ago, my first trip to a bps, it was definitely nice. I've got to get to the one in Missouri sometime, I've wanted to go there since I was a kid. 

[Frisbie385]

The BPS in Springfield, MO is impressive.

[hoosierbass07]

Really, I don't care what happens to the stores.  I wonder about the Cabelas catalogs.  I hope they keep their distinct look about them. 

[Preytorien]

On 10/4/2016 at 2:28 PM, hoosierbass07 said:

Cabelas opened up a small store near Indy last year.  I went once but was not impressed, mainly because I know have access to a Gander Mountain store and a new Academy store which are only twenty/thirty minutes away.  That Cabelas is a good two hour drive from me.  I do like Cabelas magazines though. 

I live pretty close to that store. I'm only excited about it because it carries more variety than most stores, although I have seen an uptick in sales and in-stock items at the DSG in the same shopping center. A lot of times the DSG will have far more aggressive sales. 

[stk44]

I wish they would take out the Cabelas and put in a BPS. I've never been in one...