As a first step in its divestiture plan, Vista Outdoor has sold its Bollé, Cébé and Serengeti brands of sunglasses to Antelope Brands Bidco, an entity affiliated with an American private equity fund, A&M Capital Partners, which recently opened a branch in London. The transaction was closed for $158 million, representing a premium on the price paid by Vista when it acquired the brands as part of the former Bushnell Performance Optics in 2013. The deal is expected to be finalized before the end of August. A&M Capital Partners is an investment fund managing about $600 million whose portfolio include companies in the retail, security and logistics sectors, among others. The operations of the three brands in Europe, the Middle East and Africa are currently managed by Bushnell Outdoor Products Europe, located in France near Paris, with subsidiaries in Germany, the U.K., Spain, Italy and South Africa. No further information could be obtained about the company's future plans at the time of going to press.

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