Vista Outdoor Has Two Legal Chiefs on Payroll Amid Deal Drama

Vista Outdoor Inc. disclosed that it gave roughly $3.5 million in collective total compensation during fiscal 2024 to the top lawyers for its primary business segments as it mulls a future for both entities.

The suburban Minneapolis-based sporting gear company announced this week it postponed a shareholder vote for the proposed $2 billion sale of its ammunition division to a Czech arms conglomerate. That deal, initially announced late last year, subsequently drew scrutiny from investors and US lawmakers.

Vista’s most recent proxy statement shows it paid nearly $2.1 million to co-general counsel Jeffrey Ehrich, a former police officer who a year ago took over the top legal job for the Kinetic Group, a unit that controls a portfolio of ammo brands such as Remington, Speer, HEVI-Shot, and Federal Premium.

Y. Jung Choi, a fellow co-general counsel at Vista who was hired following Ehrich’s appointment last summer, earned more than $1.4 million in compensation after coming aboard in October. Choi’s pay package included a $100,000 cash signing bonus and equity awards valued at $261,500 that will vest over three years, according to a securities filing this week by Revelyst Inc.

Revelyst is Vista’s outdoor products business, a Bozeman, Montana-based unit that was set to be spun off into its own company as an owner of brands like Bell Helmets, Bushnell Golf, CamelBak drinking bottles and hydration packs, and Giro protective gear. Choi, a former associate at Davis Polk & Wardwell, most recently was general counsel for online retailer Boxed Inc.

Ehrich said via email that he and Choi will go their separate ways and become legal chiefs for their respective businesses once Vista finalizes its separation plan. That plan, however, remains unclear.

Vista said in a July 30 statement that the Czech suitor for its ammo business—Michal Strnad’s the Czechoslovak Group AS—could also buy Revelyst and keep the company together. Strnad’s company has watched its business boom from its work making ammo for Ukraine’s military, according to Bloomberg News.

Clifford Chance is representing Strnad’s Prague-based outfit on its bid for Vista’s ammo division. Cravath, Swaine & Moore is advising Vista, whose board has turned to Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher for outside counsel.

Vista was hit with a shareholder lawsuit last week over its rejection in March of another $2 billion offer for its ammo unit made by MNC Capital Partners LP.