Vista Outdoor Inc., the parent company of Bell Helmets and nearly 40 outdoor product brands, has brokered a deal to buy Fox Racing. The purchase price is said to be $540 million, with the potential for an additional $50 million earnout based on Fox Racing's financial performance. "Over the last four years, we have built a diversified portfolio of iconic outdoor brands led by a proven leadership team that continues to execute well and drive strong results for our shareholders," claims Vista Outdoor CEO Chris Metz. "With the acquisition of Fox Racing, we are continuing the successful implementation of our strategy to use accretive acquisitions to expand our leadership position and ability to capitalize on long-term growth opportunities in outdoor recreation.
“The Fox Racing acquisition meets all of our financial and strategic acquisition criteria, even before taking into account potential benefits from combining Fox Racing with our existing business,” Metz adds. “I am pleased that we have been able to continue to add category-leading brands like Fox Racing to our portfolio while maintaining a strong balance sheet and reinvesting in our existing business to drive organic growth.”
For 50 years, Fox Racing has been a leading voice in the motocross and adventure community, with a dedicated consumer following and talented group of employees that embody the brand's mission to "honor yesterday, conquer today, and invent tomorrow." Fox Racing's deep history of producing innovative gear that enables racers and explorers to reach new heights aligns perfectly with Vista Outdoor's existing portfolio of leading outdoor brands. Fox Racing grew net sales by a compound annual growth rate of approximately 20% from calendar year 2019 to 2021 and is expected to grow in excess of that in calendar year 2022.
"We're excited to join the Vista Outdoor family," adds Fox Racing CEO Jeffrey McGuane. "Together we can leverage the heritage of our leading brands, enjoy new supply chain synergies, expand our deep and established channels and target an expanded customer base. Combined with enhanced access to capital for innovation and scale, we believe this transaction is a win-win for all involved. Vista Outdoor's leadership team has proven they have an effective, repeatable acquisition model, making Vista Outdoor the clear acquirer of choice for Fox Racing.
McGuane and the Fox leadership team will continue to lead the company following the closing of the acquisition, according to the announcement. “It is not often that an acquired company can remain true to its culture and customer base, while also tapping into the benefits of Vista Outdoor's Centers of Excellence, vast retail partnerships, innovation engines and a leadership team that enables a founder's mentality and results-driven culture,” notes McGuane. Needless to say, we are thrilled about this next chapter for Fox Racing."
"Fox Racing is an ideal fit for our portfolio with a reputation for high quality helmets, protective gear and apparel for motocross and mountain biking. Motocross and mountain biking are growing and familiar categories for Vista Outdoor. Fox Racing is synergistic to our existing action sports business unit, which includes Bell Helmets, Giro, Blackburn, Krash, Copilot and Raskullz. The addition of Fox Racing to our portfolio will allow us to target multiple consumer demographics across mountain and road biking, skiing/snowboarding, and powersports. We expect that Fox Racing and our legacy teams will find multiple opportunities to leverage core competencies, enhance supply chain efficiency and resiliency, and better serve our customers and consumers to drive future growth. We believe that the combined platform will make each business stronger and more profitable tomorrow than they are today, while allowing us to continue to deliver long-term returns for shareholders. Following our separation, which was previously announced on May 5th, we expect to be one of the largest outdoor recreation companies in the industry," concluded Metz.
Fox Racing will be part of Vista Outdoor's Outdoor Products segment and will be included in the new Outdoor Products Company upon the completion of the previously announced separation featured back in the May issue:
