Vista Outdoor Inc. and Czechoslovak Group a.s. (CSG) have voluntarily withdrawn and re-filed their joint voluntary notice to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) to allow CFIUS additional time to conduct diligence on the proposed acquisition by CSG of Vista Outdoor’s The Kinetic Group business.
According to a release from Vista Outdoor, CFIUS’s acceptance of the re-filed joint voluntary notice has commenced a new review period. As part of its review process, CFIUS can permit parties to voluntarily withdraw and re-file to enable a complete and thorough review by CFIUS.
CFIUS is composed of a representatives from agencies across the federal government but is convened by the Treasury, which chairs the committee.
“Our team is actively engaged with CFIUS, alongside CSG. We’re pleased CFIUS accepted our re-filed notice, which will allow the work to continue. We remain confident in our ability to receive all necessary regulatory approvals, including with respect to CFIUS,” said Michael Callahan, chairman, Vista Outdoor.
In addition to CFIUS clearance, the Transaction remains subject to receipt of the approval of Vista Outdoor’s stockholders as well as other customary closing conditions.
In other news related to the proposed transaction, Bloomberg reported earlier this week that Representative Clay Higgins, a member of the House Homeland Security Committee, has asked Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen to “thoroughly review national security concerns” in the proposed sale of Vista’s ammunition business, which includes the Federal and Remington brands, to CSG, which is based in the Czech Republic.
The Czech Republic, a former Eastern Bloc country when it was part of Czechoslovakia, is a NATO ally and member of the European Union. The country is one of the staunchest supporters of Ukraine in its fight against Russia.
Bloomberg said Higgins believes the sale of the business to CSG would weaken national security if CFIUS approves the sale.
The Louisiana Republican reportedly said in the letter that the transaction would result in CSG controlling “nearly 70 percent of production capacity for primers in the Western world.” Primers are the component of a bullet that ignites the charge, sending the projectile down the barrel of a pistol or rifle.
Higgins said the deal could jeopardize the U.S. Army’s ability to procure ammunition from its Lake City Ammunition Plant in Independence, MO. The plant is owned by the military but managed by one of two manufacturers — Olin Corp.-owned Winchester or Vista and its predecessors — that have traded contracts for the work since the plant’s founding in 1941, according to Higgins.
Image courtesy Blazer/Vista Outdoor
