Crimson Trace is one of the most recognizable brands in the outdoor industry, but the light and laser gun sight company will soon be joining forces with a name even more widely known than its own. According to the Wall Street Journal, Smith & Wesson is set to buy Crimson Trace for a staggering $95 million, adding to S&W’s ever-growing portfolio and fundamentally changing the laser sight market.
Like many gun companies, Smith & Wesson has been a customer of Crimson Trace for years. The S&W Shield, for instance, comes with an add-on laser grip from CT, while the M&P Bodyguard models (a revolver in .38 Special and a pistol in .380 ACP) have each been equipped with built-in lasers. Smith’s series of AR rifles can be fitted with rail-mounted CT lasers, as well.
Outside of S&W, Glock, Beretta, Remington, and other firms have models of CT’s LaserGrips that fit their designs. The lasers were originally intended to replace the screw-attached grips on revolvers, but as the semi-auto gained in popularity and became the go-to handgun for the majority of shooters, the lasers have been added directly into the slide-action frames of many guns.
According to a press release from Smith & Wesson, the sale will be finalized within six weeks. Smith will purchase Crimson Trace’s outstanding stock with $95 million in existing cash balances. In turn, Crimson Trace will provide S&W with a platform for its Electro-Optics division, bringing 225 CT products into the Smith lineup. CT’s president and CEO, Lane Tobiassen, will head up the new division for S&W.
The sale is based on CT’s trailing 12-month revenue of $44 million to date. Of that, 25 percent comes from S&W; the roughly $11 million will be excluded from the consolidated revenue of the two companies.
CT was founded in 1994 and has reportedly “organically generated a ten-year compound annual revenue growth rate in excess of ten percent.”
Aside from its namesake products, Smith & Wesson’s holdings also include, among others, Thompson/Center Arms, Taylor Brand knives, Caldwell Shooting Supplies, and Battenfield Technologies.
Forbes points out that Smith’s newest acquisition is perfectly timed: As November’s election nears and fears of gun control rise, many first-time firearm purchasers are picking up S&W handguns. Of those, many will opt for laser sights, and with Crimson Trace being a leader in the industry, those shooters will likely be outfitting their S&W pistols with S&W lasers.
Some speculate that Smith is trying to get in on CT’s new LINQ technology, a currently unreleased version of its laser and light combo that will sit on an AR’s rail mount and wirelessly activate when a switch is tripped in the pistol grip.
There are probably several reasons for Smith’s purchase, but whatever the causes, the effects on the outdoor industry will no doubt be far-reaching.