The largest producer of rifles and shotguns in the U.S. is preparing to file for bankruptcy. Remington is expected to file for Chapter 11 in Delaware’s U.S. Bankruptcy Court in order to restructure its $950 million in debt. The 202-year-old company will remain open as part of the filing, with its debt holders taking control.
According to Reuters, Remington’s parent company, the Cerberus Capital Management-owned Remington Outdoor Company (formerly the Freedom Group), has been looking for ways to restructure its debt for some time. As a result, the company entered into a restructuring support agreement on Sunday that would allow holders of its $550 million term loan to receive an 82.5 percent equity stake, while third-lien noteholders would receive the remaining 17.5. The latter would also receive four-year warrants for a 15 percent stake in the company.
As part of its Chapter 11 filing, Remington would remain in business via a $100 million debtor-in-possession loan from its creditors. Remington expects the measures to reduce its debt by roughly $700 million and provide $145 million in new capital.
Several things have combined to make business difficult for Remington in recent years. Many gunmakers have seen their sales dwindle in the wake of Donald Trump’s election, which calmed fears of anti-Second Amendment legislation for the present, but Remington had the added injury of being sued for its perceived connection to the Sandy Hook school shooting. Adam Lanza reportedly used a Bushmaster XM-15, among other firearms, to murder 20 children and six adults in 2012. ROC owns Bushmaster, as well as DPMS and Marlin Firearms.
Remington is not only the oldest gunmaker in the U.S., but it also operates the oldest factory still making the product it originally produced. Its Ilion, New York, factory opened in 1828 when founder Eliphalet Remington II moved his barrel-making operation to the banks of the Mohawk River. The Ilion factory is still in operation, with Remington’s Custom Shop guns and other firearms produced there.