Lenders vying for Cabela's credit card business -sources

By Mike Stone
April 27 (Reuters) - At least five financial services
companies are competing to acquire the credit card business of
Cabela's Inc CAB.N , a U.S. outdoor retailer that is exploring
selling itself, according to people familiar with the matter.
Cabela's has been looking to sell its credit card division
at a time when an auction for the entire company has attracted
interest from a consortium comprising rival Bass Pro Shops and
Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) Inc's GS.N private equity arm.

Citigroup Inc (NYSE:C) C.N , Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC) BAC.N , Capital
One Financial Corp COF.N , Toronto-Dominion Bank TD.TO and
Synchrony Financial SYF.N are among the lenders that have
submitted offers for the Cabela's credit card business, the
people said this week.
The sources asked not to be identified because the sale
process is confidential. Cabela's, Citigroup, Toronto-Dominion
Bank, Bank of America and Synchrony declined to comment. Capital
One did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Dubbed World's Foremost Bank, the credit card business of
Cabela's had nearly 2 million accounts with roughly $5 billion
in loans and $502 million in revenue in 2015, according to the
company's latest annual report.
A sale of the Cabela's credit card business would free the
Sidney, Nebraska-based company from the regulatory burden and
capital requirements associated with maintaining a bank charter.
Cabela's said in December it was working with investment
bank Guggenheim Securities LLC to explore strategic
alternatives including a sale, following pressure from activist
hedge fund Elliott Management Corp.
Cabela's, which has a market capitalization of $3.5 billion,
was founded in 1961 by Dick Cabela and has roughly 80 stores in
36 U.S. states and nine in Canada. It also runs a large catalog
business, which contributes roughly 24 percent of sales.