Sep. 3, 2009 (Business Wire) -- The Mercanti Group announces that it served as the exclusive advisor to Cabela’s, Inc. (Cabela’s) (NYSE: CAB) on the sale of Van Dyke’s Taxidermy, a wholly owned subsidiary, to McKenzie Sports Products (MSP), a Gridiron Capital, LLC portfolio company. South Dakota-based Van Dyke’s Taxidermy offers a wide array of taxidermy products, tools and supplies and is one of the leading manufacturers of glass eyes in the world. Headquartered in North Carolina, MSP has become the recognized leader in the Taxidermy industry given its broad selection of products to meet a taxidermist’s every need.
“We have been very proud to have had Van Dyke’s taxidermy business as part of the Cabela’s family for more than a decade. When the prospect of this sale first came up, we knew McKenzie would be the perfect home for this great company. The opportunities McKenzie brings are exciting for Van Dyke’s loyal employees and customers, as well as for the taxidermy industry as a whole,” said Tommy Millner, Chief Executive Officer of Cabela’s in the Company’s September 1st press release.
“We are excited about combining the strengths of our two companies to deliver an even broader line of products and services to the taxidermy industry. We will partner with Van Dyke’s management and employees to grow the selection of products, continuing to improve the service level, serving needs of the taxidermy customers, and investing in the industry,” said Kevin McKenzie, Chairman of McKenzie Sports Products in the announcement made on the Company’s website.
“McKenzie Sports Products is the ideal partner for Van Dyke’s Taxidermy given its leading position in the Taxidermy industry,” said Dave Remick, Director at the Mercanti Group. “Under the ownership of Cabela’s, Van Dyke’s has built a solid reputation of quality, innovation and breadth of product selection over its 60 years of operation which makes it an attractive add-on for MSP.”
The transaction closed on September 1, 2009. At closing, MSP acquired all of the assets of Van Dyke’s Taxidermy and Van Dyke’s Taxidermy became a wholly-owned subsidiary of MSP.
About The Mercanti Group
The Mercanti Group is a results-oriented boutique financial advisory firm that embraces a fierce commitment to client service and provides creative Merger & Acquisition, Capital Raising and Strategic Advisory solutions to small and middle market companies, private equity firms and individual business owners in the consumer, health care, technology, business services and manufacturing industries. Mercanti offers companies the expertise and capabilities of a large investment bank with the focus, attention and energy of a small entrepreneurial firm. Mercanti has offices in Minneapolis, Los Angeles and New York. Mercanti also is strategically affiliated with Marquette Financial Companies, a diversified financial services company which is a part of the Pohlad family holdings. If you would like more information on The Mercanti Group, please visit the Web at www.mercantigroup.com, or contact a Mercanti professional at 612.333.0130 (Minneapolis); 310.444.0130 (Los Angeles); or 212.883.0130 (New York).
