CSG’s Fully Financed Bid Provides Vista Outdoor Shareholders Certainty and Opportunity to Realize Superior Value
Vista Outdoor Shareholders Can Vote FOR the CSG Transaction at Special Meeting of Stockholders on July 30,2024
Czechoslovak Group (“CSG”), a leading global industrial holding company, which recently increased its offer for Vista Outdoor, The Kinetic Group to $2.15 billion, today reaffirmed its strong commitment to successfully completing the acquisition. CSG believes its fully financed bid maximizes the value that will be received by Vista Outdoor shareholders, and that the transaction can be completed in early August.
CSG’s offer has been approved by U.S. regulators, including the multi-agency Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS”). Further, leading proxy advisory firm Glass Lewis & Co. (“Glass Lewis”) has issued an updated analysis recommending that Vista Outdoor shareholders vote “FOR” the CSG acquisition at the Vista Outdoor special meeting of stockholders, scheduled for July 30, 2024. In its report, Glass Lewis notes that the transaction is the “best option to maximize shareholder value,” for Vista shareholders. This recommendation was published prior to CSG’s increased offer to $2.15 billion, which has further enhanced the value that would be delivered to shareholders.
Additionally, after successful completion of the transaction, CSG intends to invest in the growth of the newly acquired businesses within The Kinetic Group and increase American jobs as part of its broader growth strategy.
“CSG’s acquisition of The Kinetic Group is the optimal outcome for Vista Outdoor shareholders, employees of the company and the American economy,” said Michal Strnad, Chief Executive Officer and the owner of CSG. “CSG is a highly experienced and globally respected industrial company and upon successful completion of the acquisition, we intend to fully integrate The Kinetic Group, build those businesses, serve all of the company’s customers with the highest level of professionalism and trust, and add jobs in the United States,” added Mr. Strnad.
Mr. Strnad added, “Once shareholder approval is secured, we stand ready to quickly close the transaction and begin to chart the future of the The Kinetic Group as part of CSG.”
The acquisition by CSG will not be its first in the United States. In 2022, CSG acquired Fiocchi Group, a manufacturer of small-caliber ammunition, which has two production sites in the U.S. As a result, it has become an American manufacturer in a strategic field and has successfully built its businesses in the U.S.
About CSG
The global industrial and technological group CSG, owned by Czech entrepreneur Michal Strnad, has key production facilities in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Spain, Italy, India, the UK, and the U.S. and exports its products worldwide. CSG is continuously investing into the development of its companies while expanding in its core business areas. The Group includes, for example, the Czech truck manufacturer Tatra Trucks, the world’s leading manufacturer of small caliber ammunition Fiocchi, and the Czech radar manufacturer Eldis. More than 10,000 employees work in the companies included in the CSG group and in their associated companies. In 2023, the Group’s consolidated sales reached USD 1.73 billion. CSG’s main fields of activity are the engineering, automotive, rail, aerospace, and defense industries and small caliber ammunition production. CSG’s products can be found on all continents thanks to its strong export orientation.
CSG´s companies in Europe are major suppliers of tanks, artillery systems and high caliber ammunition for Ukraine which is co-financed also by the U.S. and other NATO member states.