Bass Pro Shops Merger Is Called Off Amid Regulatory Pushback
Bass Pro Shops Merger Is Called Off Amid Regulatory Pushback
(Bloomberg) -- Sportsman’s Warehouse Holdings Inc., a retailer for outdoor equipment, slipped in late trading after announcing its planned merger with the owner of the Bass Pro Shops chain was canceled.
Sportsman’s Warehouse and Great Outdoors Group LLC opted to terminate the deal after the Federal Trade Commission indicated the companies wouldn’t get clearance to complete it, according to a regulatory filing. Great Outdoors will pay a $55 million termination fee.
Shares of Sportsman’s Warehouse slumped 2.6% to $16.50 at 5:12 p.m. in New York in extended trading. The West Jordan, Utah-based company had a market value of $743 million at the close.
The collapse of the deal comes at a delicate time for retail chains, as supply-chain challenges and labor shortages pressure the industry. Sportsman’s Warehouse would have gone private through the transaction, which valued the company at $18 a share.
The merger is the latest casualty after President Joe Biden in July signed an executive order calling on regulators to take steps to boost competition in the industries they oversee. The president has blamed unchecked consolidation for harming consumers, workers and small businesses.
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