Bass Pro Shops Acquires Cabela’s

In a deal that has been discussed since the beginning of the year, Bass Pro Shops announced today that it will acquire Cabela's in a deal valued at $5.5 billion. The plans are to take the company private. Privately held Bass Pro Shops will pay $65.50 per share in cash for Cabela's. Ten months ago, Cabela's announced that they were putting themselves up for sale.

Cabela's got its start in 1961 in Chappell, Nebraska, when Dick Cabela began selling fishing flies. Later company headquarters were set up in Sidney, Nebraska. When the Owatonna Cabela's opened in 1998 it was twice the size of the store in Sidney.

Bass Pro Shops began in 1971 when Johnny Morris started selling bait out of the back of his father's liquor store in Springfield, Missouri. They offered their first catalog in 1974. Bass Pro Shops expanded out of the state of Missouri for the first time with a new store opening in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1995. They currently operate 94 locations with about 22,000 employees. Cabela's currently has 82 locations.