Vista Outdoor to Buy Golf-Simulator Maker for $474 Million
Vista Outdoor Said to Near Deal for Golf Simulator Maker
(Bloomberg) -- Sporting-goods company Vista Outdoor Inc. agreed to buy golf-simulator maker Foresight Sports for $474 million, bolstering the technology portfolio for the maker of water bottles, bike helmets and shooting products.
The cash deal for the San Diego-based company marks Vista Outdoor’s biggest acquisition since it was spun out in 2015 by a company now owned by Northrop Grumman Corp., according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The announcement confirms Bloomberg’s report that Vista Outdoor, which already makes Bushnell rangefinders for golfers, was nearing a deal to buy Foresight Sports.
“Together under the same roof, Bushnell Golf and Foresight Sports will elevate their brands’ strengths, engage and expand into new segments of the industry,” Chris Metz, chief executive officer of Vista Outdoor, said in a statement Friday.
The acquisition will expand the Anoka, Minnesota-based company further into golfing as a new generation use technology to invigorate the sport, which has been losing players as young people become less inclined to spend four hours on a round. Callaway Golf Co. closed a $2 billion deal this year for trendy driving-range chain Topgolf Entertainment Group.
Foresight’s products include $14,000 monitors to help golfers improve their swings, as well as custom-designed virtual golf simulators, according to its website.
Vista Outdoor makes CamelBak water bottles and CCI bullets, among dozens of other brands.
Its shares rose 3.6% at 9:41 a.m. in New York. The stock had climbed 70% this year through Thursday, outpacing the 20% gain of the S&P 500.
PricewaterhouseCoopers served as financial adviser and Gunderson Dettmer acted as legal counsel to Foresight Sports.
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