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Bass Pro Shops buying Cabela’s for $5.5B
Each brand has one store in Pennsylvania
Nebraska-based Cabela’s put itself on the market less than a year ago. Bass Pro Shops, which is based in Missouri, has been seen as the likely buyer.
A Bass Pro spokeswoman said there will be no immediate impact on the two companies’ retail locations.
“Until the transaction is complete, Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s will operate as separate companies,” Tanza Smith said.
Cabela’s has a store in Berks County, its only Pennsylvania outlet.
Bass Pro Shops said it intends to “celebrate and grow” the Cabela’s brand, while continuing to maintain the brand’s base operations in Sidney and Lincoln, Neb.
Cabela’s has 85 stores, while Bass Pro Shops has 99. Both retailers are known for their large-format destination stores.
Bass Pro Shops CEO Johnny Morris, who founded the brand in 1972, will lead the combined company and retain majority ownership.
“The story of each of these companies could only have happened in America, made possible by our uniquely American free enterprise system,” Morris said. “We have enormous admiration for Cabela’s, its founders and outfitters, and its loyal base of customers.”
The deal is expected to be finalized in the first half of 2017.
