Leonard Green & Partners, the Los Angeles buyout firm which already owns Sports Authority Inc., is in advanced talks to acquire a minority stake in Bass Pro Shops, sources told The Wall Street Journal.
Sources said the investment could value Bass Pro between $4 billion and $5 billion including debt, close to Cabela’s $4 billion valuation in the public market. Any deal is “likely weeks away and there is no guarantee one will be reached,” the Journal stated.
The talks follow reports last September that Bass Pro had hired investment bank Moelis & Co. to explore funding options.
In March, Leonard Green partnered with TPG to purchase gym operator Life Time Fitness Inc. for more than $2.8 billion. It took The Sports Authority private in 2006 in a $1.3 billion deal.
Bass Pro Shops operates 90 stores and Tracker Marine Centers across America and Canada and continues to expand rapidly. It opened six locations last year and has 24 others in development. It claims its stores are visited by more than 116 million people every year while the average customer stays 2 ½ hours and drives an average distance of 50+ miles. The company’s Tracker Marine Group, a leading brand of fishing, manufactures and sells a variety of boats for fishing and cruising. It also operates the Bass Pro Shops resort Big Cedar Lodge.
