Remington’s search for a buyer — lately rumored to include the Navajo Nation — hasn’t gone well and the nation’s oldest gun maker filed for bankruptcy protection for the second time in two years yesterday. This amid the biggest gun-buying boom since, well, maybe forever.
As the Wall Street Journal reports,
The chapter 11 petition in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Decatur, Ala., marks Remington’s second restructuring since 2018, when it filed for chapter 11 and transferred ownership to investors including Franklin Resources Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Remington has been searching for potential buyers and was in talks to sell itself out of bankruptcy to the Navajo Nation before negotiations collapsed in recent weeks, leaving the company without a lead bidder, or stalking horse, in place.
The manufacturer’s firearms and ammunition businesses could be sold off separately, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Big Green is still weighed down with high interest costs in addition to expensive litigation defending itself from lawsuits resulting from the Sandy Hook shooting.
From the AP:
In the most recent legal action this year against the Madison, North Carolina, company, families of those killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting were granted access to the computer of the shooter.
The families are looking for evidence of the shooter’s exposure to advertisements for weapons. They say Remington violated the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act by marketing its Bushmaster XM15-E2S, an AR-15 style weapon, to civilians.
Remington has what should be some very valuable pieces of business. They make iconic guns like the Model 700 line of rifles and Model 870, Model 1100 and Versa Max shotguns, among the most popular guns in their categories, as well as a full line of ammunition.