Savage Arms, the well-known “still made in the USA” brand founded 125 years ago, was purchased by ATK in 2013. ATK’s outdoors brands that also include Federal Premium, CCI Ammunition, Bushnell and others, were housed under a spinoff — Vista Outdoor — in 2015.
“Divesting our Savage brand was a key aspect of our transformation plan,” said Chris Metz, Chief Executive Officer of Vista Outdoor, in a press release. “While it was a difficult decision to sell such an iconic brand, I remain confident this was the correct choice to help Vista Outdoor grow in those categories where we can have leadership positions.
“Savage is a fantastic business, and it deserves to continue to evolve into other firearms categories. At this time, however, we simply do not have the resources to transform Savage into the full-service firearms company that it deserves to be and, therefore, we determined the brand would be better off with a different owner. We’re excited to see Savage reach its full potential under new ownership.”
The buyer was not disclosed in the July 8 announcement.