Work continues on the new Bass Pro Shops seen Tuesday, May 24, 2016, in East Ridge. Tenn.U.S. antitrust regulators have ended their investigation into Bass Pro Shops' $4 billion deal to buy Cabela's.
The Sidney, Neb.-based Cabela's chain said that the Federal Trade Commission signed off on the deal earlier this week, but banking regulators still haven't approved one part of the transaction.
Cabela's shareholders will vote on the deal - which would pay them $61.50 per share - next Tuesday.
Stifel Nicholas analyst Jim Duffy said gaining FTC approval makes it much more likely that the merger of the two outdoor gear selling rivals will be completed.
The deal, originally announced in October, will combine Cabela's 85 stores, which have a stronger U.S. Northwest presence, with Bass Pro's roughly 100 locations that are concentrated in the U.S. Southeast.
The companies have an overlap across Texas, Missouri and Kansas and operate stores within a couple of miles of each other along Interstate 75 on either side of the Tennessee-Georgia border.
Cabela's opened a 72,000-square-foot store near the intersection of I-75 and State Route 146 in Ringgold, Ga., in May 2015. A year later just less than 2 miles north on I-75 on the other side of the state line, Bass Pro Shops opened an 85,000-square-foot store at Exit 1 in East Ridge.
It is still unclear if Bass Pro Shops will retain both of the nearby stores after the merger.
In addition to selling its stores, website and catalog business to Bass Pro, Cabela's also plans to sell its credit card unit.
Ultimately, the deal calls for the credit card business to be sold to Capital One. But first the Georgia-based Synovus Bank will buy the unit as a middleman. Synovus will hold onto the credit card unit's $1.2 billion in deposits before reselling it to Capital One.
Late last year, banking regulators had questioned the sale to Capital One because of an unrelated issue with that bank. Regulators haven't said whether the new arrangement involving Synovus addresses their concerns.
The deal is expected to close later this year.