Vista Outdoor Announces Closing of Acquisition of Simms Fishing Products

sims to anchor a new platform in the fishing category within Vista Outdoor’s portfolio of outdoor products

The acquisition strengthens Vista Outdoor with the 12th strong brand and adds approx. $110 million in net sales

ANOKA, Minn., August 23, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Vista Outdoor Inc. (NYSE: VSTO), the parent company of 41 renowned brands that design, manufacture and market sports and outdoor products to consumers around the world, today announced the closing of its acquisition of Bozeman, Mont.based on Simms Fishing Products for a purchase price of $192.5 millionwhich includes a net present value of approximately $20 million in future tax benefits.

“The addition of Simms Fishing Products to the Vista Outdoor family is a transformation for our growing outdoor products segment,” said Chris Metz, CEO, Vista Outdoor. “As the anchor of our new fishing platform, sims expands our core addressable market into a new, highly attractive category with a premium, innovative brand that has significant room for growth. We are particularly pleased that sims keep calling bozeman house and will continue to design and produce their world famous waders in Montana.”

sims was founded in 1980 and later acquired in 1993 by KC Walsh, its current executive chairman, who continues with the company as a strategic advisor and advocate for conservation and government affairs. Sims CEO Casey Sheahan continues to direct the day-to-day operations of simsand the current sims the management team and existing employee base will remain in place.

sims is now part of the Outdoor Products segment of Vista Outdoor and will be included in the new Outdoor Products Company upon completion of the previously announced separation.

Transaction Details

Vista Outdoor paid a gross purchase price of $192.5 millionwhich included a net present value of approximately $20 million in future tax benefits. sims increased net sales by a compound annual growth rate of approximately 15% from calendar year 2019 to 2021 and is expected to grow beyond that of calendar year 2022. Vista Outdoor expects the transaction is accretive to earnings, excluding transaction costs, transition costs and inventory strengthening, in Fiscal Year 2024.

Vista Outdoor financed this acquisition through an existing ABL credit facility. After acquiring sims, Vista Outdoor’s leverage ratio is well below its target leverage ratio of one to two times. Vista Outdoor plans to deleverage approximately 1.5x by the end of fiscal 2023.

About Simms Fishing

Since 1980, Simms Fishing has created products that inspire you to fish. We use our hands to make revolutionary gear designed to fish harder and go further. Our products serve a higher purpose. Fishing is fishing, but more importantly, equipment that performs at the highest level allows all anglers to enjoy the overall fishing experience and all of the unique nuances that occur before and after the catch. And as the fishery has progressed, so have we become a state-of-the-art design and manufacturing hub, where innovators converge in Bozeman, Montana, to form a diverse and creative family. To learn more, visit www.simsfishing.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 sports and outdoor products. We serve a wide range of consumers worldwide, including outdoor enthusiasts, golfers, cyclists, backyard grillers, campers, hunters, recreational shooters, athletes, as well as law enforcement. order and military professionals. Our reporting segments, Outdoor Products and Sporting Goods, offer these consumers a wide range of innovative, high-quality and performance-oriented outdoor and sporting products. Our operating model relies on resources shared between brands to achieve levels of excellence and performance that would be out of reach for a single brand in isolation. 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 major retailers and distributors across North America and around the world. For news and information, visit our website at www.vistaoutdoor.com.

Forward-looking statements

Certain of the statements made and information contained in this report, excluding historical information, are “forward-looking statements,” including those that address, among other things, our plans, objectives, expectations, intentions, strategies, goals, perspectives or other non-historical issues; projections regarding future revenues, income, earnings per share or other financial measures for Vista Outdoor; and the assumptions underlying these questions. The words “believe”, “expect”, “anticipate”, “intend”, “aim”, “should” and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. To the extent that such information is forward-looking, it is intended to fall within the safe harbor of forward-looking information provided by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Many risks, uncertainties and other factors could cause our actual results may differ materially from the expectations described in these forward-looking statements, including the following: supplier capacity constraints, production or shipping disruptions, or quality or pricing issues affecting our operating costs; the supply, availability and costs of raw materials and components; increases in raw material, energy and production costs; seasonality and weather conditions; our ability to complete acquisitions, realize the expected benefits of acquisitions and integrate acquired businesses; unexpected reductions or changes or our inability to accurately forecast demand for ammunition, accessories or other outdoor sports and recreation products; a disruption in service or a significant increase in the cost of our primary delivery and shipping services for our products and components or a significant disruption in shipping ports; risks associated with diversifying 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 for third-party technologies; our ability to attract and retain key personnel; disruptions caused by catastrophic events; risks associated with our sales to large retail customers, including unexpected cancellations, delays and other purchase order changes; our competitive environment; our ability to adapt our products to changes in technology, market and customer preferences, including our ability to meet changing end-consumer preferences from physical retail to online retail; our ability to maintain and improve our brand awareness and reputation; others’ use of social media to post negative comments 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 numerous 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 to current rate structures; changes in tax rules or reporting; capital market volatility and availability of funding; foreign currency exchange rates and fluctuations in such rates; general economic and commercial conditions in United States and our markets abroad United Statesincluding the war 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 the risks associated with our planned separation. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements we make. A more detailed description of the risk factors that could affect our results of operations can be found in Part 1, Item 1A, Risk Factors, of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for Fiscal 2022 and in the documents that we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. (the “SEC”) from time to time. We undertake no obligation to update forward-looking statements, except as otherwise required by law.

SOURCEVista Outdoor Inc.