Remington Bankruptcy Update
Remington Arms, the legendary American gun company, is being sold off to a number of other companies following its long, slow descent into bankruptcy. Fortunately, many of the companies picking up Remington assets are other gun industry leaders in addition to a few holding groups.
Remington has been in a downward spiral for more than a decade, with problems including bad management, legal issues, and quality control and production issues. Despite the company’s status as a household name recognized around the world, Remington was unable to overcome its mismanagement and debt, again falling into bankruptcy earlier this year.
Instead of one company scooping up Remington and its associated brands under one big green umbrella, Remington and the other brands are being parted out to a handful of different companies.
According to documents from the Northern District of Alabama Bankruptcy Court the Vista Outdoor Group will acquire Remington’s Lonoke Ammunitions Business with SIG Sauer as the backup bidder. The Roundhill Group will pick up the non-Marlin Firearms Business with Huntsman Holdings and Century Arms as backup bidders.
Sturm, Ruger & Company will get the Marlin Firearms Business. Long Range Acquisition is the backup bidder for Marlin. Franklin Armory Holding will take the Bushmaster brand and its related assets.
The Advanced Armaments Corporation, DPMS, H&R Firearms, Storm Lake Precision Barrels and Parker Shotguns will go to the JJE Capital Holdings group which owns Palmetto State Armory and PSA Defense.
And Sierra Bullets is set to pick up Barnes Ammunition with a backup bid in from Barnes Acquisition while Sportsman’s Warehouse is in for Tapco.
All of these bids will be heard by the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Alabama before they are finalized, so there may be some changes in the final decisions.
Remington declared bankruptcy in July 2020, with about $175 million in debts. These sales are expected to cover about $155 million of the remaining debt, but they also offer promise for the Remington brands going forward.
While it’s entirely possible that these companies are buying these properties for their remaining assets and intellectual properties, many of these brands are what carry the most weight. It’s one thing to buy Remington or Marlin’s tools. It’s another thing entirely to keep making and selling Remington and Marlin firearms.
With the backing of names like Ruger and Vista, shooters can be hopeful that the Remington legacy is in good hands. Of course, time will have to tell.
The year 2020 has been full of surprises.
Update 9/30/20: Statement from Ruger on Marlin acquisition:
Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc. announced today that its offer to purchase substantially all of the Marlin Firearms assets was accepted by Remington Outdoor Company, Inc. and approved by the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Alabama. The Company will pay the $30 million purchase price from cash on hand at the time of closing, which is expected to occur in October.
“The value of Marlin and its 150-year legacy was too great of an opportunity for us to pass up,” said Ruger President and CEO Chris Killoy. “The brand aligns perfectly with ours and the Marlin product portfolio will help us widen our already diverse product offerings.”
The transaction is exclusively for the Marlin Firearms assets. Remington firearms, ammunition, other Remington Outdoor brands, and all facilities and real estate are excluded from the Ruger purchase. Once the purchase is completed, the Company will begin the process of relocating the Marlin Firearms assets to existing Ruger manufacturing facilities.
“The important thing for consumers, retailers and distributors to know at this point in time,” continued Killoy, “is that the Marlin brand and its great products will live on. Long Live the Lever Gun.”
*Reposted from gunsamerica.com