Remington Arms sold -- good thing or not?

[skeeter1]

Gun maker Remington Arms is sold to Cerberus Capital


NEW YORK (Reuters) — Private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management will buy closely held firearms maker Remington Arms for $118 million, the companies said Thursday.
As part of the acquisition of Remington, which makes guns for hunting and for police and military uses, Cerberus has agreed to assume $252 million of debt, including a revolving credit line and subordinated notes.

Copyright 2007 Reuters Limited.

 

[rem33]

Time will tell I guess, sad Remington's getting passed around or so it seems lately. I was bummed when DuPont sold the Company, they had made a quility firearm for a long time.

 

[ebd10]

Probably not a good thing. We will start to see quality fall as Cerebus tries to make money by selling a cheaper made gun for the same price as before. It has happened with Colt, Winchester, S&W, and now Big Green.

I own 5 Model 700s, but I won't buy another until I see what happens to the quality as a result of this. My next rifle purchase will probably be a Savage, and my next shotgun will probably be an Ithaca Model 37. The new Ithacas are the best that have ever been made.

 

[WeedWacker]

Well I was looking at a 700 as a possibility but I might need to go along the lines of somehing else until I see the quality of the products.

 

[Don H]

We will start to see quality fall as Cerebus tries to make money by selling a cheaper made gun for the same price as before.

Cerberus has also owned Bushmaster Firearms, Inc for a year. Quality hasn't seemed to have declined there.

 

[skeeter1]

My personal feeling is that this can't be a good thing for us shooters. Like them or loathe them (count me in the "like" group), the company's history is long and proud.

"It is the oldest company in the United States which still makes its original product, and is the oldest continuously operating manufacturer in North America. It is the only US company which produces both firearms and ammunition domestically, and is the largest US producer of shotguns and rifles."

I'm afraid when a capital investment group takes over, their main concern will be return on investment, and we shooters will be left out in the cold until the company goes under.

BTW, Remington has been in buisiness since 1816.

 

[boltgun71]

I see no reason to hold off on purchaseing a 700 or similar product from Remington for now. I wouldn't expect a drop in quality for awhile, if at all. The new owner will have to evaluate the current products and see where they can cut corners to save on costs if thats what they plan to do at all. This will take time and any current Remington products will be fine for now. It really saddens me to see Remington sold to someone else. They are my favorite firearm company and I own many of there products. Hopefully quality and product designs dont take a hit from this purchase. I would be devastated if Remington heads down the road Winchester took and dis-appeared for good. At least the new owner is taking care of any debt Remington has incurred, something that could have possibly helped Winchester maybe. This could possibly really help Remington get out of any trouble spots it may be in finaicially or be the beggining of the end with new ownership. If its the same owner as Bushmaster which someone said earlier, I wouldnt expect any problems. I keep hearing more and more good about Bushmaster on TFL lately, I dont think they are having any quality issues. Remington is still my personal #1 go to gun company and hopefully always will be. At least if the worst were to happen I have plenty of Remington firearms and wont be like the multiple other people who wished they had bought a Winchester 94 or 70 before they closed shop. I hope this new ownership helps to carry Remington ahead into a long innovative and prosperous future. Remington has a great history behind them and are still made in the good ole' USA. Hopefully it stays that way. Good luck to them.

 

[BillCA]

Cerberus Capital Management must be doing something right.

They own 51% of GMAC LLC, bought up Tower Automotive who makes suspension systems and frames for Ford and others. They also control holdings in Formica Inc, and Mervyn's dept. stores among others. And they're buying out Austria's fourth-largest bank BAWAG P.S.K.

John W. Snow, the 73rd Secretary of the Treasury of the United States of America, is Chairman of Cerberus Capital Management.

Stephen Feinberg is the CEO.

About Cerberus:
Established in 1992, Cerberus Capital Management, L.P. is one of the world's leading private investment firms with $16.5 billion under management in funds and accounts. Through its team of more than 275 investment and operations professionals, Cerberus specializes in providing both financial resources and operational expertise to help transform undervalued companies into industry leaders for long-term success and value creation. Cerberus is headquartered in New York City, with offices in Chicago, Los Angeles, and Atlanta, as well as advisory offices in London, Baarn, Frankfurt, Tokyo, Osaka and Taipei. More information on Cerberus can be found at www.cerberuscapital.com.

 

[rem33]

Cerberus specializes in providing both financial resources and operational expertise to help transform undervalued companies into industry leaders for long-term success and value creation.

This sounds very good to me, lets hope for the best. DuPont's were family friends with the Remington's way back when they became involved and Dupont has to my knowledge always made a quality products.

The Present owners have changed things quite a bit in the availability and began importing from other countries and marketing them along side the made in American Remington line. I disagreed with that from the beginning. Not the imports but selling along side a almost 200 year old firearms company product. I can no longer buy BDL lefty and though nice the new guns I look at in the stores don't quite seem up to Remington's of the past, but perhaps I am wrong.

Now we have new owners who at first glance seem to be a on top of it Company. Lets all hope Remington will stay/become Americas premier firearm manufacture.
I don't call me rem for no reason. I wish them well. I have been a Remington fan over 50 years now.

Hey Remington, do you need a hunter/gun owner sales rep in Idaho?

 

[K80Geoff]

Here's a different take on the sale

 

[hoghunting]

For the years 2003 - 2005 Remington posted losses. For 2006 Remington posted a net profit of $300,000 on sales of $446 million. Remington probably wouldn't be around much longer if not for the buyout.

The 700 BDL that I ordered two years ago was a POS! The first problem was there was such a large burr in the chamber that a round wouldn't chamber. The firing pin hole was so enlarged that two firing pins could have fit. The inletting on the stock wasn't finished as the action wouldn't fit all the way into the stock. It was sent back to Remington and 2 1/2 months later it is returned with the burr reamed from the chamber, but nothing else is done. It was sent back to Rem and 3 months later there was still no response.

My dealer gave me credit for the rifle so I bought a Sako.

Six months after the 700 went back to Rem for the second trip, the dealer had the rifle returned with the bolt replaced, but the stock was not fixed. My dealer said he will fix the stock himself and sell the rifle.

I guess I'm missing something about great quality Remington has.

 

[rem33]

The 700 BDL that I ordered two years ago was a POS!

Lets hope this will be the end of that kinda quality. My 700's are about 15 and over 25 years old hunted many hours in the field, shot plenty with no failures of any kind. I own other Remington's aged to 75 years all work great, and shoot straight.

 

[10 MickeyMouse]

Funny that the federal government will bail out automakers, airlines, commercial farms, etc., but when it comes to the oldest continuously operating company in the USA they are SOL because of the product line and are forced to sell.

 

[Art Eatman]

A key point in Bane's article was the part about streamlining the line. Way too many variants. And, if there's any cooperative brainstorming between Bushmaster and Remington, new ideas often make a helluva difference in lowering costs and increasing productivity as well as quality.

Art

 

[Csspecs]

Something tells me that they are also hedging their bet that the new AWB is not going through.

Or they are really planing to make some really cool new hunting rifles, bushmaster has some ar-15 actions that would be great as hunting rifles. Now with the Remington name they might even be PC.

 

[Don H]

Funny that the federal government will bail out automakers, airlines, commercial farms, etc., but when it comes to the oldest continuously operating company in the USA they are SOL because of the product line and are forced to sell.

Oh? Did Remington ask for a government bailout? Source, please?