Bass Pro Shops To Hook Cabela’s For $5.5B by PitchBook
Bass Pro Shops has agreed to acquire Cabela’s (NYSE: CAB) for $65.50 per share in cash, representing an aggregate transaction value of about $5.5 billion and a 19.2% premium to the company’s closing share price Friday. The merchant banking division of Goldman Sachs will contribute $1.8 billion in equity financing and Pamplona Capital Management will add $600 million.
Cabela’s, a retailer of hunting and fishing gear operating primarily in the western US, first announced it would explore strategic alternatives last December. The acquisition by Bass Pro Shops, its chief rival in the outdoor equipment space, creates a combined business with more than 180 stores employing nearly 40,000. For Bass Pro Shops, which operates primarily in the eastern US and Canada, the deal presents an opportunity for significant geographic expansion.
