1.) Wild Bob - 11/06/2015

I just heard a Reuters Report that Bass Pro Shops is considering making a buy-out offer to Cabela's. Anyone else hear about that or have any more information?

2.) DParker - 11/06/2015

Oh, hell...I sincerely hope not.

3.) Swamp Fox - 11/06/2015

Yes, it got circulated in the press yesterday...But it's not as far along as "making an offer." They're trying to round up the money, then make an offer.

I see this as being better for Bass Pro than for Cabela's from a consumer standpoint. I don't know why Cabela's would want to bite, though, from any angle.

My Magic 8 Ball says this doesn't happen any time soon.

4.) DParker - 11/06/2015

From this consumer's point of view it would be terrible. I have a Bass Pro about 5 minutes from my house...and I routinely drive 30 minutes to the nearest Cabela's instead. That is, unless I'm in the market for an official NASCAR/Dale Earnhardt commemorative plate or a RealTree camo shower curtain...then Bass Pro is my first choice.

5.) DParker - 11/06/2015

From this consumer's point of view it would be terrible. I have a Bass Pro about 5 minutes from my house...and I routinely drive 30 minutes to the nearest Cabela's instead. That is, unless I'm in the market for an official NASCAR/Dale Earnhardt commemorative plate or a RealTree[SUP][SIZE=1]®[/SIZE][/SUP] camo shower curtain...then Bass Pro is my first choice.

6.) Swamp Fox - 11/06/2015

LOL...

I agree. From my perspective, BPS can go nowhere but up if this happens and Cabela's nowhere but down (consumer-wise). BPS does great in the fishing department, but still not as well as Cabela's. Other than that, the only thing BPS has going for it is that Gander is a far cry and Dick's is almost pitiful. The Dick's affiliate Field and Stream is respectable, though.

My guess is that because Cabela's is sucking wind sales-wise and stock-price-wise this year, there's an internal push plus some interest from privately held BPS from the outside. There's a reasonable crowd that feels this coud be a good marriage at the right time.

On the other hand, I don't think it's going to happen in the near future, if at all. Cabela's should recognize its strengths and BPS' weaknesses.

7.) Jon - 11/06/2015

I obviously mis-read the sound bite, I thought it said Cabela's was attempting to buy out BPS which would make sense to me. There's NO WAY BPS will buy out Cabela's.

8.) Bob Peck - 11/06/2015

Privately held Bass Pro buying publicly traded Cabelas? Never.

This is all about an 11% stock holder unhappy with the rate of returns, attempting to boost stock prices and shaking things up.

a. BPS will never come up with the scoots
b. Cabelas stockholders will never approve
c. Private equity markets would climb all over and trump any BPS deal before Johnny Morris ever reached for his wallet.

9.) Swamp Fox - 11/06/2015

There is plenty of money out there looking for a place to go in a BPS//Cabela's merger, I think, so that's not the limiting factor here. Nor is there a potential "trump" to BPS's efforts, I don't think, since there's probably nobody else interested in a merger. If Cabela's wants to become a "held company" on the other hand (rather than being merged) there are (usually) fewer benefits to shareholders than if a merger is on the table, so I think the ONLY money chasing Cabela's with a better than average chance of success is "merger" money, such as BPS may be able to gather.

Lastly, Cabela's shareholders except at the board level may not be much of a speed bump to this, not only because of the way these things happen but also because they are very likely to come out ahead in a merger, given certain assumptions.

So there are several-to-plenty-of reasons on the business and investor levels to not write this off as a possibility, and as I said before, there's a case to be made for the benefits of a "merger" on those levels. I'm not putting the same amount of chips on the deal when we look at the intangibles, though, and if Cabela's is looking at the intangibles the same way I am, they could outweigh the other side of the scale.

So, don't write it off, but don't bank on it either.

10.) Bob Peck - 11/07/2015

I am a Cabelas stockholder and I will not answer in the affirmative for a sale to BPS.

No offence to Johnny Morris but his pockets aren't deep enough, he's a smart guy, he's tight with his millions and he knows he stands to gain more by going public with BPS than sinking hundreds of millions into purchasing Cabelas.

At the end of the day the equity investors @ Cabelas are not ready to surrender their cash cow until it reaches full potential which so far it has not. This is a feint not a real deal.