Remington Arms Company Files for Bankruptcy (Again)
Even with surging firearms sales in 2020, Remington Arms Company (Remington) found itself in financial trouble — with overwhelming obligations to creditors and investors. Accordingly, on July 27, 2020, Remington filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy — the second time in recent years.
Remington, based in Madison, North Carolina, filed for Chapter 11 in March 2018. With major loan reorganizations, Remington “emerged nearly two months later, having converted more than $775 million in debt into equity for its lenders.” (Source: Syracuse.com.) However, despite this debt-restructuring, the company has struggled with high interest costs and litigation related to the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. The perpetrator had a Bushmaster XM15-E2S rifle sold by Remington.
This time, there are more challenges — and it’s unclear how the company’s operations will fare in the months and years ahead. According to the Wall Street Journal, the debt-burdened firearms maker will seek buyers for its assets:
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Remington Arms Declares Bankruptcy Despite Surging Gun Demand Remington … sought chapter 11 protection and will try to sell its business at a time when civil unrest and worries about personal safety have driven firearm sales to record highs. The chapter 11 petition in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Decatur, Alabama, 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. Source: Wall Street Journal, Emphasis Added |
Remington Has a Storied History
Founded in 1816 by Eliphalet Remington in New York, Remington is the oldest continuously-operating gun manufacturer in the United States. Even with its present difficulties, Remington still sells more sporting rifles and shotguns than any other American company. Remington has developed more cartridges than any other U.S. company. And it is the only American company that sells firearms AND ammunition under its own name.
