Vista Outdoor Gains 2%, Company Announces Acquisition Of BRG Sports' Action Sports Division

Shares of Vista Outdoor Inc VSTO were trading higher by around 2 percent Thursday morning after the company announced it has agreed to acquire BRG Sports' Action Sports division, which is owned by Bell Sports and includes brands such as Bell, Riddel, Giro and Blackburn. Vista Outdoor will pay $400 million for the acquisition and additional continent considerations if incremental profitability growth milestones are achieved. The company expects the transaction to be accretive to its fiscal 2017 earnings per share. Vista Outdoor stated that the acquisition will be integrated into its already existing Outdoor Products Segment. The acquisition will result in a balancing of its brand portfolio between Shooing Sports and Outdoor Products. "This acquisition is consistent with our strategic growth objective of becoming a world-leading outdoor sports and recreation products company," said Vista Outdoor Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Mark DeYoung. "This is our third acquisition since becoming an independent public company one year ago, and demonstrates our commitment to creating a solid leadership position in the individual outdoor recreation market with top-tier brands and market-leading capabilities. The Action Sports acquisition, combined with our strong CamelBak and Bollé brands, positions Vista Outdoor as a leading company in cycling and snow sports equipment in both North America and Europe. Adding these innovative and well-known consumer brands to our portfolio creates a channel leadership position, enabling us to sell a broad suite of Vista Outdoor products to specialty outdoor shops, wholesalers and leading outdoor product retailers."