It’s the final chapter of a local, homegrown western Nebraska business success story.
Outdoor gear giants Bass Pro and Cabela’s will merge in a $5.5 billion deal.
This has thousands concerned about jobs in western Nebraska.
While both companies said the merger will create a better overall outdoor shop, a local economist and longtime western Nebraska leader says it's a rough day for the state.
Bass Pro Shop revealed Monday it plans to buy the outdoor outfitting giant for $5.5 billion.
Gary Person worked in various roles with Cabela's in Sidney, Nebraska for nearly 40 years, where its corporate headquarters are.
"It was the pride and joy for all of western Nebraska,” Person said. “That's American ingenuity. That's the American dream, from the kitchen table to what is now a $5 billion acquisition."
Cabela's started in the early 1960s in Chappell, Nebraska as a small fishing store.
It now employs more than 2,000 workers within 100 miles of Sidney and Chappell.
While Cabela's and Bass Pro Shop have both said the merger will create a better overall company, the future of those jobs is uncertain.
"It’s what America, really, was all about,” Person said. “Western Nebraska was blessed for a long time to be able to be synonymous with Cabela's."
Large mergers can be bad for customers because it creates less competition, Creighton Economist Ernie Goss.
"It’s not a happy day for the state of Nebraska,” Goss said. “I don't think it's a good signal. You probably will have less competition. You will have somewhat higher prices. That would be my expectation."
The U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission have the power to strike down the merger if they consider it a violation of the Fair Trade Act.
With ConAgra leaving Nebraska last year, Goss says Cabela's leaving is a double whammy.
"Two important companies that are Nebraska companies, they're moving out,” Goss said. “That's not a good signal. On the flipside, Nebraska will come out, we'll survive. But it's going to be a hit in the short run, no doubt about it"
A spokesperson wrote in a release that Bass Pro Shop has been thinking about the merger for many years.
City leaders in Sidney say they saw the writing on the wall when Cabela's became a publicly traded company.
*KMTV acknowledges that Sidney is spelled wrong in the video graphic above. We apologize for this error.
