AMMO Inc. Offers to Buy GunBroker

AMMO Inc., parent company of Streak visual, Night OPS and stelTH subsonic ammunition firms, among others, entered into a non-binding letter of intent to purchase GunBroker.com from IA Tech for $240 million on Feb. 9. The widely reported announcement, however, does not guarantee the parties will successfully negotiate and enter into a definitive transfer-of-ownership agreement. Even then, terms may not be the same and regulatory and board approval, along with other customary conditions, are still required.

GunBroker launched in 1999 and has grown to become the world’s leading online marketplace for the legal sale of firearms and related gear. It currently has more than 6 million registered users. Nearly 7 million people visit the website every month to browse through an average inventory of 1 million firearms and related items.

“We founded AMMO to be a disruptive technology-based company that could serve the shooting community with cutting-edge ammunition offerings, whether that be for the military, law enforcement, hunting or recreational shooting communities,” said Fred Wagenhals, AMMO’s chairman and CEO. “GunBroker.com is a perfect fit and supports AMMO’s mission across many levels. Steve Urvan had the foresight and entrepreneurial drive to start GunBroker.com more than 20 years ago with the same spirit and vision. With his drive and intimate understanding of how to serve our collective market, Steve created the world’s largest online marketplace for the purchase and sale of firearms, ammunition and accessories.”

AMMO’s expansion in the last year has been dramatic. On Nov. 6, the company made the final payment on its $27 million purchase of Jagemann Stamping Company’s brass casing division in Wisconsin. In December, it joined Nasdaq under the ticker POWW, offering a total of 8,564,285 shares of common stock at a price of $2.10 per share.

In a press release earlier this month the company “…reported a 256 percent year-over-year increase in orders shipped, as it works around the clock to fulfill booked orders which have now increased to a record setting $180 million as of February 1, 2021.” With its headquarters in Scottsdale, AZ, It has manufacturing facilities in Payson, AZ, and Manitowoc, WI. The company was established in 2016.