(Reuters) -Investment firm MNC Capital said on Saturday that it has increased its all cash buyout offer for Vista Outdoor to $43 per share from $42 per share.
The offer values Vista at $2.51 billion, and represents a 12.30% premium over Vista’s last closing price of $38.29 on Friday, according to Reuters calculation and LSEG data.
The firm said it had sent a letter to Vista on Friday stating, “MNC is now prepared to offer an increased all-cash purchase price of $43.00 per share for Vista, despite substantial market headwinds for consumer spending and softness in Vista’s recent quarterly results.”
Vista previously rejected the firm’s buyout offer of $3.2 billion or $42 per share stating that it undervalued Vista’s sporting gear unit, Revelyst.
The Prague-based defense firm Czechoslovak Group (CSG) was considering acquiring Revelyst, in addition to its current $2.15 billion bid for Vista’s ammunition business, Kinetic Group.
Proxy advisory firm Glass Lewis has recommended Vista shareholders vote in favor of the proposed merger of the company’s ammunition unit with CSG, while Institutional Shareholder Services has recommended against the same.
Vista launched a strategic review, and postponed the special meeting where shareholders were expected to vote on the CSG deal to Sept. 13 from July 30.
The latest development adds to the months-long saga for the parent of Federal Ammunition and Remington Ammunition against the backdrop of rising demand for military supplies since the escalation of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in 2022.
The bidding war has been ongoing since the start of the year, with Vista rejecting multiple offers from MNC and supporting CSG’s bid for Kinetic, which raised national security concerns even though it was granted regulatory clearance in the United States.
(Reporting by Gursimran Kaur in Bengaluru and Abigail Summerville in New York; editing by Diane Craft and Franklin Paul)