Goodbye Cabelas

[runco]

I like Cabelas, better than BP.  :cry:

 

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/11/05/us-cabelas-m-a-basspro-idUSKCN0SU2JY20151105#e1R8rY15XyRPuG1V.97

 

Privately held outdoors retailer Bass Pro Shops is exploring an offer for Cabela's Inc (CAB.N), the U.S. hunting and fishing store chain targeted by activist investor Elliott Management, people familiar with the matter said.

Bass Pro is working with an investment bank on the potential offer, the people said this week. Cabela's has recently begun to explore its options and has also reached out to private equity firms to solicit interest, the people added.

The sources asked not to be identified because the deliberations are confidential. Bass Pro Shops declined comment, while Cabela's did not respond to a request for comment.

 

Shares of Sidney, Nebraska based Cabela's jumped as much as 13 percent on the news, giving it a market capitalization of around $3 billion.

Last month, Elliott disclosed an 11 percent stake in Cabela's and called for it to explore strategic alternatives, including a sale to a private equity firm.

Cabela's manages retail stores in the United States and Canada. The stores are known for their museum quality experience, offering taxidermy, a pond and other attractions.

Cabela's also runs a credit card business, through its wholly owned subsidiary, World's Foremost Bank.

Springfield, Missouri-based Bass Pro Shops was founded in the 1970s by Johnny Morris. Bass Pro has stores in the United States and Canada, as well as several in-store wild game and seafood restaurants

 

 

 

[Hozzie]

Man, I hope not.  Cabela's is a true outfitter and their store brands are top notch.  This would really suck although I suspect it wouldn't change a lot real quick.  I would prefer to see a private equity firm buy it and let it continue to run as is.

Edited November 12, 2015 by Hozzie

[peejman]

Interesting.  I didn't know Cabela's was publicly held.  Seems somewhat typical of stock offerings with small-ish businesses that have been family run.  The IPO generates needed cash at that time, but being subject to the whimsy and absurdities of public trading tends not to go so well in the long run. 

[tennesseetiger]

Elliott Management Group is notorious for this stuff...they are the reason Dell purchased EMC  earlier this year. They make millions "actually billions" off of forced and/or hostile acquisitions/take overs.

[superduty]

Argh.....I like Cabelas so much more than Bass Pro. That sucks.

[LagerHead]

Guys, don't break out the Kleenex just yet. If a private equity firm buys it, they may just restructure the company, i.e. trim the fat, and do another IPO under the same name with the same products. They aren't gone 'til they're gone. HCA has done this twice already.

[bersaguy]

I try not to use Cabela's or Bass Pro Shops for any business transactions. I have only been to the local BPS here about 4 times since it opened and that was only because a friend or two invited me to ride along. Only thing I bought every time was outboard motor oil for my Skeeter Bass Boat because they had it on sale. I try and do most of my business with Mom & Pop locations as much as possible........jmho

[Randall53]

I doubt the name changes at all or the cabellas brand. It's just another high level buyout more than likely.

[Wingshooter]

Oh no no no!!! :panic:

Cabelas is probably my favorite store. I even have the credit card... I earn the points! No no no.


I was in there today holding a Winchester 70 Extreme Weather and checkining out some camping gear for a CO elk hunt next October.

[Randall53]

If they do buy out cabelas and change the stores out, there will be 2 BPS's less than 1 mile apart here in Chattanooga.  The cabelas that opened this summer and the new Bass Pro that they are building right down the road.  :blink:

[peejman]

Guys, don't break out the Kleenex just yet. If a private equity firm buys it, they may just restructure the company, i.e. trim the fat, and do another IPO under the same name with the same products. They aren't gone 'til they're gone. HCA has done this twice already.

I agree except that I hope there's not another IPO. I hope the Cabelas management has learned that being a publicly traded company ain't all that.

[Wingshooter]

This is a good reason (excuse) to go ahead and buy the vestibule that goes to my Cabelas Big Horn tent while I still can :)

[LagerHead]

I agree except that I hope there's not another IPO. I hope the Cabelas management has learned that being a publicly traded company ain't all that.

It depends. It's a great way to raise capital.


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[peejman]

It depends. It's a great way to raise capital, so the bosses get rich, cash out,  and then the company descends into the purgatory of market whimsy.  Again.


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FTFY.  ;)

[LagerHead]

FTFY.  ;)

 

No, you didn't. You need to read "Meltdown" by Thomas Woods and possibly "Economics In One Lesson" by Henry Hazlitt. When you understand that the government is the driver in the business cycle and that market booms and busts are much less volatile when they aren't artificially lowering interest rates and expanding the money supply, it kinda opens your eyes as to who the real bad guys are. If you do take it upon yourself to read those two books, I would recommend them in the opposite order I listed them.

[DMark]

LagerHead, on 13 Nov 2015 - 08:13 AM, said:

..... "Economics In One Lesson" by Henry Hazlitt.

 

Here is my cliff note on Hazlitt.....

 

- - - Behind almost every problem in economics, you will find politicians who focus on short term policies without any regard or appreciation for the long term.

[LagerHead]

Here is my cliff note on Hazlitt.....

- - - Behind almost every problem in economics, you will find politicians who focus on short term policies without any regard or appreciation for the long term.

That's the point of the entire book. Trying to pin people's money issues on the rich us exactly what politicians want. They also want us to forget the fact that the rich don't get rich at the expense of the poor. They get rich by providing a superior product at a price that people want to pay.


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[peejman]

That's the point of the entire book. Trying to pin people's money issues on the rich us exactly what politicians want. They also want us to forget the fact that the rich don't get rich at the expense of the poor. They get rich by providing a superior product at a price that people want to pay.


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Who says the "bosses" doesn't include the politicians

Yes, they got rich by producing a product or providing a service. They get even more rich when they realize they can sell the whole thing for 3x what it's worth and walk away. Edited November 13, 2015 by peejman

[LagerHead]

Who says the "bosses" doesn't include the politicians

Yes, they got rich by producing a product or providing a service. They get even more rich when they realize they can sell the whole thing for 3x what it's worth and walk away.

 

This is a fallacy of the typical "bash the rich" philosophy they want you to have. They can't sell anything for three times what it's worth because they don't set the worth, we, the consumers do. When you buy something you are making a value statement about the product you are buying and the money with which you are paying. If you agree to the price asked, you are in essence saying the product is worth more to you than the money you have in your possession. The inverse is true of the seller, of course. If the producer is asking 3x what it is worth, he doesn't sell any and doesn't make any money.

The only time this doesn't work properly is when the government intervenes and either forces you to buy a product, provides guarantees that the product will be paid for (see student loans), or artificially alters the price through tariffs, subsidies, etc.

Edited November 13, 2015 by LagerHead

[peejman]

I guess I don't understand. I'm differentiating between the general consumer and the employees. I've been the employee who watched the big bosses get tons of stock and stock options (which I don't really understand either), then manipulate the books to overvalue the company, then cash out with their golden parachutes, and leave all the minions (me) stuck in a highly over leveraged company, with no capital to do anything with and stock holders who only want ROI. There's only so much blood you can squeeze from a rock.