After being rebuffed in its attempt to purchase Vista Outdoor's iconic ammunition brands, the Colt CZ Group has moved to pick up Sellier & Bellot. 
 
Headquartered in the Czech Republic, Colt CZ includes the brands Colt's Firearms, CZ (Ceska zbrojovka), Colt Canada, CZ-USA, Dan Wesson, Spuhr, swissAA and 4M Systems, employing 2,000 worldwide. In late December 2023, the group announced it had moved to acquire Czech ammunition manufacturer Sellier & Bellot, which dates to 1825 and employs 1,600. 
 
The acquisition is complicated, with Colt CZ assuming a 100-percent interest in S&B from its current owner, the CBC Global Ammunition Group, which also owns the Magtech, MEN, SinterFire, New Lachaussee, and Fritz Werner ammo brands. The $350 million cash deal will also see Colt CZ issue new common stock to CBC that will give the ammo group as much as a 28-percent stake in the gunmaker. 

Further, Magtech USA will remain the exclusive distributor for Sellier & Bellot ammunition meant for the U.S. market. 
 
"The successful contribution of one of CBC Global Ammunition Group’s flagship companies to Colt CZ Group in exchange for a significant shareholding marks the starting point of an impactful strategic collaboration," explained Fabio Mazzaro, CFO of CBC. 
 
"This acquisition fits into our long-term strategy to expand not only in our core segment of small arms but also in related areas, with ammunition being a natural complement to our products," said Jan Drahota, CEO and Chair of the Board of Directors of Colt CZ Group, in a statement. 
 
The news comes just weeks after Colt CZ submitted an unsolicited $30-per-share offer to Vista Outdoor to buy its  CCI, Federal, Hevi, Remington, and Speer ammunition brands. Vista quickly rejected the offer, which would have valued the company at roughly $1.74 billion, in favor of an already agreed-to $1.91 billion deal to sell its ammo concern to the unrelated Czechoslovak Group, a Prague-based holding company that owns several Czech military armament firms as well as a majority stake in Fiocchi ammunition.
 
Both the Sellier & Bellot/Colt CZ deal and the Vista/Czechoslovak Group deal are on track to be completed later this year following regulatory approval. 
 
Banner image: Chris Eger/Guns.com.