Remington Outdoors, America's oldest gun manufacturer, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after its sales plummeted by more than 30 percent in 2017.
The filing was posted March 25 by the United States Bankruptcy Court in Delaware. Specifics were not available from the court's website. Along with Remington Outdoor Company, Inc. and Remington Arms Company, LLC, several other subsidiaries including RA Brands, L.L.C., Barnes Bullets, LLC, FGI Holding Company, LLC, RA Brands, L.L.C., Huntsville Holdings LLC, and others were listed.
According to CNBC, Remington disclosed to investors the company "reported negative operating cash flow as of March 25 of $7.4 million." The report also said sales were just more than $600 million in 2017 and down more than 30 percent than the previous year. The New York Times reported that Remington, in its filing, cited assets of between $100 million and $500 million as well as debt within the same monetary range.
Remington is owned by Cerberus Capital Management, a giant private equity firm owned by billionaire Steve Feinberg. Following the purchase of Remington by Cerberus in 2007, the deep debt, a failed attempt at a public offering and lingering lawsuits stemming from the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting created further problems for the embattled company.
Remington was founded 202 years ago in Illion, N.Y. The company relocated its production facility to Huntsville, Ala., in 2014. It manufactures a variety of arms for hunting, target shooting, home security, personal protection and competition. Other well-known brands within its family include Marlin, DPMS, Bushmaster and Barnes, among others.
The Wall Street Journal reported that as part of the bankruptcy filing, which was revealed in February, Remington will relenquish control of the company to creditors including Franklin Resources Inc. and J.P. Morgan Chase & Co's assets-management division. This would relieve about $700 million of more than $950 million in debt, according to reports from the initial February news of the agreement with creditors.
