Managing the Merger: Bass Pro has no current plans to close stores after Cabela’s purchase

Bass Pro Shops’ Sept. 25 purchase of Sidney, Nebraska-based Cabela’s Inc. (NYSE: CAB) set off a flurry of share conversions by the rival company’s executives and board members.

The $5 billion acquisition gave shareholders $61.50 apiece for their shares in Cabela’s, according to U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filings. 

Fifteen Cabela’s officers and directors net a combined $859.4 million from the deal that merged the company into Bass Pro and made the combined entity a private business led by Johnny Morris, according to Springfield Business Journal’s examination of SEC filings. 

The top earner in the transaction was Cabela’s Chairman James Cabela, who converted $689.1 million worth of company stock.

Below are the Cabela’s executives and officers, their titles, number of shares and earnings from the transaction:

• James Cabela, chairman, 11.2 million shares, $689.1 million;

• Michael McCarthy, board member, 1.6 million, $96.6 million;

• Ralph Castner, chief financial officer, 408,381, $25.1 million;

• Dennis Highby, board member, 348,982, $21.5 million;

• Thomas Millner, CEO, 210,942, $13 million;

• Charles Baldwin, executive vice president, 78,374, $4.8 million;

• Douglas Means, executive vice president, 32,839, $2 million;

• Sean Baker, executive vice president, 31,598, $1.9 million;

• Scott Williams, president, 31,066, $1.9 million;

• Theodore Armstrong, board member, 23,279, $1.4 million;

• John Edmondson, board member, 14,456, $889,044;

• Beth Pritchard, board member, 8,456, $520,044;

• James Wright, board director, 4,239, $260,699;

• Donna Milrod, board member, 3,301, $203,012; and

• Peter Swinburn, board member, 2,637, $162,176.

The Springfield outdoor retailer and Cabela’s originally announced the deal in October 2016. Cabela’s shareholders gave the green light to the sale in July, and in September, the acquisition cleared its final regulatory hurdle when the Federal Reserve approved a crucial step. The Fed gave the go-ahead to Cabela’s sale of its World’s Foremost Bank subsidiary to Synovus Bank.

— SBJ Staff