CSG has sweetened the pot once again for the purchase of Vista Outdoor’s Kinetic Group. Their revised purchase price for the acquisition set to close this year is for an even $2 billion.
The updated offer comes on the heels of a potentially richer offer from an investment firm falling through. All eyes will be on CFIUS approval, which is necessary given that CSG is a foreign buyer.
CSG increasing their offer may be coincidental, but the timing is notable because it came right after proxy adviser ISS changed their recommendation on the deal. While they had recommended a vote for it previously, they changed that to advising investors to abstain on the vote.
ISS changed their recommendation due to the risk of Vista not receiving CFIUS approval and in light of MNC’s most recent offer.
We find that given the regulatory risk surrounding the CSG offer for Kinetic and the valuation uncertainty of a standalone Revelyst, MNC’s $39.50 bid forms, at the very least, a reasonable basis for negotiating a cash transaction that would represent a better risk-adjusted outcome for shareholders
ISS