Czechoslovak Group (CSG), which acquired Vista Outdoor’s Kinetic Group ammunition business in November 2024, has reportedly launched a bond offering consisting of $500 million and €350 million in senior notes.

CSG also reported that company results in the first two months of the second quarter “continued to build on the momentum gained during the first quarter.”

The company will use the net proceeds from the bond offering to redeem its existing $775 million senior secured floating-rate notes in full for general corporate purposes and to pay certain related fees and expenses.

The notes will be senior secured obligations of the company and will be guaranteed by certain of the company’s subsidiaries. Interest will be payable semi-annually. The interest rate, offering price and principal amount of the notes, along with certain other terms, will be determined at the time of pricing of the offering, subject to market conditions.

CSG also offered preliminary financial figures for the five months ended May 31, stating, “Our performance in the two months ended May 31, 2025, continued to build on the momentum gained during the first quarter of 2025.”

CSG reported that based on unaudited preliminary management accounts, revenue, operating EBITDA, and operating EBITDA margin for the five months ended May 31, amounted to €2.32 billion, €631.8 million and 27.3 percent, respectively. Year-ago comparisons weren’t available.

CSG also noted that the operating EBITDA and operating EBITDA margin for the last twelve months ended May 31, 2025, on a pro forma basis for the Kinetic Group Acquisition ended May 31, 2025, equaled €5.8 billion, €1.6 billion and 27.0 percent, respectively. Year-ago comparisons weren’t available.

In early April, CSG reported pro-forma revenues, including The Kinetic Group, reached €5.2 billion in the year ended December 31. The Kinetic Group transaction was finalized at the end of November 2024 and contributed only one month to the consolidated revenues of the CSG Group for 2024. As a result, CSG’s consolidated revenues in the year reached €4 billion, representing a 131 percent increase compared to €1.7 billion in 2023, driven primarily by strong organic growth.

Pro-forma operating EBITDA, including The Kinetic Group for the full year 2024, amounted to €1.4 billion. Consolidated operating EBITDA, which includes one month of The Kinetic Group’s results, reached €1.1 billion, more than doubling from €0.4 billion in 2023 and representing an increase of 146 percent and an EBITDA margin of 26.9 percent.

Separately, Fitch Ratings assigned CSG a first-time long-term issuer default rating (IDR) of ‘BBB-‘ with a stable outlook. At the same time, Fitch has assigned an expected rating of ‘BBB-(EXP)’ to the company’s proposed senior secured notes of $500 million and €350 million.

Fitch said in a statement, “The IDR is underpinned by CSG’s leading market position in the ammunition sector, improving geographical diversification following its acquisition of The Kinetic Group and solid backlog that provides good revenue visibility. The company also benefits from a strong and stable operating margin along with sustainably positive free cash flow (FCF) generation that supports its deleveraging capacity.”
The stable outlook reflects Fitch’s expectation that CSG will maintain its solid financial profile, supported by robust underlying demand within the defense industry.

Kinetic Group’s brands include Federal, Remington, CCI, Spee, and Hevi-Shot. CSG’s other ammo brands include Fiocchi Munizioni, Baschieri & Pellagri, Lyalvale Express, and Fiocchi of America. CSG also operates in the aerospace and mobility sectors.

Image courtesy Kinetic Group