Olin Corporation announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to purchase the small-caliber ammunition manufacturing assets from Ammo Inc.—parent firm of Gunbroker.com—for $75 million. Olin’s legendary Winchester Ammunition business will assume management of the assets—including a world-class, 185,000-sq.-ft. shell case production facility in Manitowoc, Wis.—once the acquisition is complete.
“The Manitowoc assets will extend Winchester’s leadership position and expand the reach and value of our near full integration,” said Brett Flaugher, president of Winchester Ammunition. “The acquired assets will enable our legacy plants to lower costs of existing high-volume products and increase our ability to participate in higher-margin specialty rounds at a cost advantage.”
The Wisconsin site, which was built in 2022, and its employees will complement Winchester’s existing production capabilities. The addition of the plant will enable the company to increase specialization and enhance offerings in specialty calibers. Combined with Winchester's industry-leading economies of scale the acquisition is anticipated to yield realized synergies of $40 million. The transaction is expected to close sometime in the second quarter of this year and is subject to customary terms and closing conditions.
“As highlighted during our recent Investor Day, this investment continues the Winchester acquisition strategy, which began with our White Flyer acquisition in 2023, to identify and secure small bolt-on opportunities that are highly strategic and immediately accretive to Olin,” said Ken Lane, Olin president and CEO. “We expect the Manitowoc assets to generate $15 million to $20 million of incremental adjusted EBITDA in the first year and, by the third year, we expect to have paid less than two times adjusted EBITDA.”
In 2022, Ammo, Inc., separated Gunbroker.com and its Wisconsin ammunition operations into two companies—Outdoor Online and Action Outdoor Sports, respectively. Commercial cartridges currently available from the latter firm include Streak, Signature, Blackline, stelTH, Blueline, Ammo Brass and Hunt Ammunition.
