The sale of Vista Outdoor’s ammunition business to a Czech company has raised antitrust concerns in the U.S. Vista controls a majority of the U.S. market for primer, a key ingredient in the manufacture of bullets. | Joe Raedle/Getty ImagesThe controversial takeover of a leading U.S. ammunition business by a Czech conglomerate might hit a new hurdle: the Justice Department’s antitrust lawyers.by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S.
The Biden Administration has made antitrust enforcement a cornerstone of its economic policy, investigating industries across the economy for illegal monopolies, and a formal probe of the deal would be an escalation of that approach. This year the Justice Department has filed sprawling lawsuits against Ticketmaster and Apple and the FTC has sued to block major grocery and consumer goods mergers.
Vista currently controls a majority of the U.S. market for primer, which ignites the charge and makes a pistol or rifle able to fire. Winchester, a gun maker and the other major manufacturer, makes primer only for its own use. CSG, meanwhile, controls Italian company Fiocchi, which imports primer to the U.S. and is currently building a domestic production center in Arkansas.
It’s that last part — the ammunition business — that has some in Washington concerned. The possibility of it falling into foreign hands — even a company based in NATO ally Czechia — is raising alarms among some Republicans.