Simms to Anchor New Platform in the Fishing Category Within Vista Outdoor's Outdoor Products Portfolio
Acquisition Strengthens Vista Outdoor with 12th Power Brand, Adds Approximately $110 Million in Net Sales
ANOKA, Minn. , Aug. 23, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Vista Outdoor Inc. (NYSE: VSTO), the parent company of 41 renowned brands that design, manufacture and market sporting and outdoor products to consumers around the globe, today announced the closing of its acquisition of Bozeman, Mont. -based Simms Fishing Products for a purchase price of $192.5 million , which includes a net present value of roughly $20 million in future tax benefits.
"The addition of Simms Fishing Products to the Vista Outdoor family is transformational for our growing Outdoor Products segment," said Chris Metz , Chief Executive Officer, Vista Outdoor. "As the anchor of our new fishing platform, Simms broadens our core addressable market into a new, highly attractive category with a premium, innovative brand that boasts significant room for growth. We are especially excited that Simms will continue to call Bozeman home and will keep designing and producing their world-famous waders in Montana ."
Simms was founded in 1980 and later acquired in 1993 by K.C. Walsh, its current Executive Chairman, who continues with the company as a strategic advisor and conservation and government affairs advocate. Simms CEO Casey Sheahan continues to lead day-to-day operations of Simms , and the current Simms management team and existing employee base will remain in place.
Simms is now part of Vista Outdoor's Outdoor Products segment and will be included in the new Outdoor Products Company upon the completion of the previously announced separation.
Details on the TransactionVista Outdoor paid a gross purchase price of $192.5 million , which included a net present value of roughly $20 million in future tax benefits. Simms grew net sales by a compound annual growth rate of approximately 15 percent from calendar year 2019 to 2021 and is expected to grow in excess of that in calendar year 2022. Vista Outdoor expects the transaction to be accretive to earnings, excluding transaction costs, transition costs and inventory step-up, in Fiscal Year 2024.
Vista Outdoor financed this acquisition via an existing ABL credit facility. After the acquisition of Simms , Vista Outdoor's leverage ratio is well within its target leverage ratio of one to two times. Vista Outdoor expects to de-lever to roughly 1.5 times by the end of the Fiscal Year 2023.
About Simms FishingSince 1980, Simms Fishing has created products that inspire you to fish. We use our hands to craft groundbreaking gear that's built to fish harder and go farther. Our products serve a higher purpose. Fishing is fishing, but more importantly, gear that performs at the highest level allows all anglers to embrace the overall fishing experience and all the unique nuances that occur before and after the catch. And as fishing has advanced, so too have we, into a state-of-the-art design and manufacturing hub, where innovators converge in Bozeman, Montana , to form a diverse, creative family. For more, visit www.simmsfishing.com.
About Vista Outdoor Inc.Vista Outdoor (NYSE: VSTO) is the parent company of more than three dozen renowned brands that design, manufacture and market sporting and outdoor products. We serve a broad and diverse range of consumers around the globe, including outdoor enthusiasts, golfers, cyclists, backyard grillers, campers, hunters, recreational shooters, athletes, as well as law enforcement and military professionals. Our reporting segments, Outdoor Products and Sporting Products, provide these consumers with a wide range of performance-driven, high-quality and innovative outdoor and sporting products. Our operating model leverages shared resources across brands to achieve levels of excellence and performance that would be out of reach for any one brand on its own. Brands include Remington Ammunition, Bushnell, CamelBak, Bushnell Golf, Foresight Sports, Fox Racing, Bell Helmets, Camp Chef, Giro, QuietKat, Stone Glacier, Federal Ammunition and more. Vista Outdoor products are sold at leading retailers and distributors across North America and worldwide. For news and information, visit our website at www.vistaoutdoor.com.
Forward-Looking StatementsSome of the statements made and information contained in this report, excluding historical information, are "forward-looking statements," including those that discuss, among other things: our plans, objectives, expectations, intentions, strategies, goals, outlook or other non-historical matters; projections with respect to future revenues, income, earnings per share or other financial measures for Vista Outdoor; and the assumptions that underlie these matters. The words "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "aim," "should" and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. To the extent that any such information is forward-looking, it is intended to fit within the safe harbor for forward-looking information provided by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Numerous risks, uncertainties and other factors could cause our actual results to differ materially from the expectations described in such forward-looking statements, including the following: supplier capacity constraints, production or shipping disruptions or quality or price issues affecting our operating costs; the supply, availability and costs of raw materials and components; increases in commodity, energy, and production costs; seasonality and weather conditions; our ability to complete acquisitions, realize expected benefits from acquisitions and integrate acquired businesses; reductions in or unexpected changes in or our inability to accurately forecast demand for ammunition, accessories, or other outdoor sports and recreation products; disruption in the service or significant increase in the cost of our primary delivery and shipping services for our products and components or a significant disruption at shipping ports; risks associated with diversification into new international and commercial markets, including regulatory compliance; our ability to take advantage of growth opportunities in international and commercial markets; our ability to obtain and maintain licenses to third-party technology; our ability to attract and retain key personnel; disruptions caused by catastrophic events; risks associated with our sales to significant retail customers, including unexpected cancellations, delays, and other changes to purchase orders; our competitive environment; our ability to adapt our products to changes in technology, the marketplace and customer preferences, including our ability to respond to shifting preferences of the end consumer from brick and mortar retail to online retail; our ability to maintain and enhance brand recognition and reputation; others' use of social media to disseminate negative commentary about us, our products, and boycotts; the outcome of contingencies, including with respect to litigation and other proceedings relating to intellectual property, product liability, warranty liability, personal injury, and environmental remediation; our ability to comply with extensive federal, state and international laws, rules and regulations; changes in laws, rules and regulations relating to our business, such as federal and state ammunition regulations; risks associated with cybersecurity and other industrial and physical security threats; interest rate risk; changes in the current tariff structures; changes in tax rules or pronouncements; capital market volatility and the availability of financing; foreign currency exchange rates and fluctuations in those rates; general economic and business conditions in the United States and our markets outside the United States , including the war in Ukraine and the imposition of sanctions on Russia , conditions affecting employment levels, consumer confidence and spending, conditions in the retail environment, and other economic conditions affecting demand for our products and the financial health of our customers; and risks related to our Planned Separation. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements we make. A more detailed description of risk factors that may affect our operating results can be found in Part 1, Item 1A, Risk Factors, of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for fiscal year 2022 and in the filings we make with Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") from time to time. We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, except as otherwise required by law.
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SOURCE Vista Outdoor Inc.
