Posted on 04/06/2007 5:02:18 PM PDT by neverdem
Remington Arms Co., the N.C. gunmaker that has equipped U.S. soldiers for 150 years, agreed to be acquired by a New York equity firm Cerberus Capital Management LP for $118 million.
The company produced its first profit in three years in 2006 after struggling with rising materials costs and increased competition from Smith & Wesson Holding Corp., maker of the .44 Magnum popularized in the "Dirty Harry" movies.
Cerberus is entering the $2.1 billion U.S. firearms industry, whose sales grew an annual average of 28 percent from 1998 to 2005, according to the U.S. Treasury Department. Remington is the country's largest and oldest maker of rifles and shotguns.
Remington was sold by other New York-based private-equity firms Bruckmann, Rosser, Sherrill & Co. and Clayton Dubilier & Rice Co., according to a company statement Thursday. The company is based in Madison, 25 miles north of Greensboro.
Remington was founded in 1816 by Eliphalet Remington II, who built his flintlock rifle in Ilion Gulch, N.Y., after placing second in a shooting match and attracting the attention of other contestants. The company was rescued by the U.S. government after Russian revolutionaries defaulted on a contract in 1918 and benefited from its purchase during the Great Depression by DuPont Co., which made improvements to gun powder.
Cai Von Rumohr, a Boston-based analyst at Cowen & Co., said Remington may be able to gain market share after U.S. Repeating Arms Co., which licenses the Winchester brand, discontinued three models and closed a factory in New Haven, Conn., where the rifles and shotguns were made for a century and a half.
The Remington transaction includes $252 million of debt. Cerberus spokeswoman JJ Rissi declined to comment on the deal's financial breakdown.
Remington, led by Chief Executive Officer Thomas Millner, stopped making handguns in the 1990s. Stricter federal and state laws governing the sale of pistols prompted gun manufacturers to narrow their focus on shotguns and rifles used for hunting and target shooting. The company's guns include the $812 700 BDL Custom Deluxe and $996 11-87 SPS Super Magnum.
In December, Smith & Wesson agreed to buy Thompson/Center Arms Inc. for $102 million to enter the hunting-rifle market. Springfield, Mass.-based Smith & Wesson, whose revenue is about half that of Remington, is known for its revolvers and pistols.
Last year, Remington posted net income of $300,000 after three years of losses. Sales rose 8.7 percent to $446 million. Smith & Wesson last month said it anticipates earning $12 million on $225 million of sales in fiscal 2007. The company had 2,150 employees at the end of February.
Clayton Dubilier bought Remington's assets from DuPont in 1993 for $300 million. The Wilmington, Del.-based chemical company purchased a 60 percent stake in the gunmaker in 1933 and acquired the remaining shares in 1980. During its 191-year history, Remington branched out to produce typewriters, sewing machines and cash registers, businesses it later divested.
Remington expects to complete the transaction by June 28.
I was impressed with the long term reliabilty test. One of the major gun schools ( can’t recall name ) has been using them for house class guns for a year or so. They seem to be very impressed.
Which manufacturer of M1 Carbine do you want? I’m going to get one but can’t decide which one. I know only six made their own barrels.
I have a 1100 12 ga. love it...
I have a hunch Shooter is going for one of the M1 Carbines out of a CMP sale :)
See post 24, forgot to add you on reply list
I’m sure he is too. They have them from 10 different mfgs that you can choose from. Right now they have Inlands for sale but the others are supposed to be ready in Sept.
I am trying to find out if any mfgs are best.
Gunsite has been using them. They speak highly of the M&P series.
>>”Remington, led by Chief Executive Officer Thomas Millner, stopped making handguns in the 1990s.”<<
I’m sure nobody noticed; I think their last handgun was a bizarre yet powerful single shot bolt action, the XP-100.
Other than that, they stopped making “normal” pistols during the Great Depression, before WW2.
Smith and Wesson just bought Thompson Center which, in addition to making S&W a major force in black powder, gives S&W control of the new bolt action TC rifles that are going on the market this year, and access to NEF/H&R, which T/C had already bought.
Oh yeah, and now S&W has access to T/C’s rifle barrel operation.
That’s what came to mind but I couldn’t find verification. Thanks.
Can't speak to either Remington cartridges or 9mm. All my pistols are .4x cal and greater.
So THAT'S what made S&W famous!
A compnay is valued based on revenues, earnings, and assests as well as other issues.
More people use Google and it has a big area for more growth then a gun manufacturing company.
“Cerberus is entering the $2.1 billion U.S. firearms industry”
This makes my point, Google last year had over 3 billion dollars in revenues all by itself.
Hmm... Could be my Remington 725 in 30.06 just went up in value.
Can’t see why it would. Same company, same factory, same workers etc. just different owners.
You’re right, of course, except for the fact that gun buyers are known to do some inexplicable things when it comes to getting that one gun they’ve always wanted. I no longer go to gun auctions because almost every gun offered invariably brings a higher bid than you would have to spend on a new one of the same make, model and caliber. Not to mention I’ve already been offered a couple hundred more than the gun is worth, even if it were NIB, which it’s not.
Ain’t that the truth! I was looking for a Ruger Redhawk in 45LC for some time. Every one I found was more than a new RR 44mag! (Finally found one at a reasonable $500.00 and snagged it)
Not to change the subject, but you wouldn’t happen to know where one might be able to buy some .22 High Power ammo would you? I know where there’s a Savage 99 in that caliber that would go way up in value if the ammo were readily available.
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