Report: Gander Mountain details plans to go private

New York City The operator of St. Paul, Minn.-based Gander Mountain plans to start its transition to a private company in the middle of January, reported Business First of Columbia.

The chain said Wednesday it will begin a 1-for-30,000 stock split that will pay $5.15 a share to investors holding fewer than 30,000 shares apiece, according to the report. The reverse split, expected to commence Jan. 14, will shear the number of shareholders to less than 300.

Gander Mountain’s two largest shareholders are St. Louis-based Gratco and Holiday Stationstores, Bloomington, Minn. The two companies expect to spend about $25 million to buy out smaller investors. Gratco is an affiliate of Gander Mountain’s chairman and interim CEO, David Pratt, and Holiday Stationstores is an affiliate of Ronald Erickson, Gander Mountain’s vice chairman and founder, and Gerald Erickson, a director of the company.

Gander Mountain, which revealed its going-private plans in the fall, operates 116 stores in 23 states.

Earlier in the month, Gander Mountain reported it earned $3.2 million in the third quarter, a steep improvement from net income of $800,000 a year earlier. Revenue was up 2.5% for the period to $276.6 million.