Fear & Loading: Remington Files for Bankruptcy Protection

Remington Outdoor Company filed for bankruptcy protection on Sunday night, according to Reuters news service. The company’s financial challenges have been well documented as it struggled to address a mounting debt burden.

Surviving and thriving through reorganizations is common in today’s business environment, even in the firearm industry. Colt, for example, may be legendary among enthusiasts, but even it has faced similar challenges throughout its long history.

Remington—one of the many companies that make up the Remington Outdoor Company—is the nation’s oldest gunmaker, which makes one Reuters observations particularly noteworthy for enthusiasts. “Cerberus Capital Management LP, the private equity firm that controls Remington, will lose ownership in the bankruptcy,” it explains. According to MarketWatch, the fabled firearm company, “ ... plans to hand over control of the company to its creditors — including Franklin Resources Inc. BEN, -1.66%   and JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s JPM, +1.47%   asset-management division — in exchange for wiping much of its debt from its balance sheet.” CNBC is reporting the 202-year-old firm experienced a 30 percent drop in sales during 2017 when compared to 2016 and that its negative cash flow as of March 25 was $7.4 million. 

Cerebrus Capital Management assumed ownership of Remington in 2007 for $118 million and began acquiring a variety of firearm firms under its Freedom Group. Today more than a dozen companies are part of Remington Outdoor Company, including Remington, Bushmaster, Marlin, DPMS Panther Arms, Harrington & Richardson, Barnes Bullets and others.

Alabama Media Group, which includes many of the major print and electronic news outlets in that state, is reporting the Chapter 11 filing indicates it will not disrupt Remington Outdoor Company operations in any way. Officials from Huntsville, Ala., where Remington opened a manufacturing facility in 2014, told the reporter they are, “ ... confident the gunmaker will meet its obligations—including creating as many as 2,000 jobs—in the North Alabama area.”