Vista Outdoor yet to decide on MNC Capital takeover bid, delays investor meet

(Reuters) - Vista Outdoor said on Tuesday it has not yet decided on the latest buyout offer from MNC Capital and delayed its special investor meet to vote on a separate deal to sell its ammunition unit to defense firm Czechoslovak Group (CSG).

The investment firm had over the weekend raised its per share offer by $1, valuing Vista at $2.51 billion, but gave a tight deadline that expired on Monday.

MNC entered the race in March when it first offered nearly $2 billion for Vista's equity, which was then planning to sell its sporting goods business.

Vista shares were then trading at a much higher price than its current value of about $38.

Both MNC and CSG have been locked in a long bidding war for Vista, which divided its performance gear and ammunition businesses into two separate units in 2022.

Meanwhile, CSG signed a $2.15 billion deal for the ammunition unit, Kinetic Group, in July after raising the offer several times.

Vista said on Tuesday the investor meet will take place on Sept. 27 instead of Sept. 13, as it "intends to continue to constructively engage with MNC".

Still, the company reiterated its shareholder recommendation in favor of the CSG deal. Its shares were up about 3% in morning trading. (This story has been corrected to fix the deal value to $2 bln from $2.9 bln, in paragraph 3)

(Reporting by Savyata Mishra in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)