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Czechs Making Moves In The Firearms Industry

December 19, 2023 by

Companies in the Czech Republic certainly have been making some moves in the last couple of months. This includes both Czechoslovak Group a.s. (CSG) and Colt CZ Groupe SE.

First was the Czechoslovak Group (CSG) agreeing to purchase Vista Outdoor’s Sporting Products group. The Sporting Products group are the ammunition, smokeless powder, and components group of Vista Outdoor. As I reported earlier, the Sporting Products groups was going to be renamed The Kinetic Group and be an independent company by the end of 2023. Then, in mid-October, Vista Outdoor changed plans and announced they agreed to sell the Sporting Products group to Czechoslovak Group (CSG) for $1.91 billion.

Last week on the 12th of December, the deal received anti-trust clearance under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976. While the deal still must get other governmental approvals before it can close, this was a major hurdle.

In the interim between the announcement that Czechoslovak Groups was purchasing the Sporting Products group and the anti-trust clearance, another Czech company, Colt CZ Groupe SE, proposed a merger with Vista Outdoor for the entirety of the company. This was on November 22nd. The combined cash and stock transaction was valued at $30 per share of Vista Outdoor common stock.

Vista Outdoor’s board of directors after consulting with their financial and legal advisors rejected the unsolicited bid from Colt CZ Groupe SE on November 29th. Among the reasons for rejecting this unsolicited bid was that it undervalued Vista Outdoor, that it didn’t provide adequate detail with which to measure the $30 per share offer, and that it didn’t provide the details of the debt and equity financing needed to complete the deal nor whether any binding commitments had been obtained.

Czechoslovak Group was not finished with their acquisitions. On Friday, December 15th, they announced they had purchased a majority stake in family-owned fine shotgun makers Armi Perazzi S.p.A. While terms were not announced, CSG will own 80% of the company while the Perazzi siblings will retain 20%. The company will continue to be managed by the Perazzi family and the current management team.

Michal Strnad, owner and CEO of CSG, said on the acquistion:

Armi Perazzi is a prestigious brand in the field of firearms for sport shooters and elite hunters. At the same time, it is a stable and prosperous company that the Perazzi family excellently manages. The motivation for this acquisition is not only financial but also to strengthen CSG’s international prestige and reputation as a global and innovative industrial group expanding in Europe and the USA.

Today, Colt CZ Group SE announced that they had agreed to purchase 100% of Czech ammunition company Sellier & Bellot in a combined cash and stock transaction from CBC Europe S.à r.l. (“CBC”). In addition to $350 million in cash, CBC will get approximately 27-28% of new issue Colt CZ common stock. Colt CZ with use existing cash and debt financing for the transaction which will close in the first half of 2024.

Jan Drahota, CEO of Colt CZ, had this to say on the acquistion:

“We are proud to welcome one of the oldest and most important producers of small caliber ammunition, Sellier & Bellot, to Colt CZ Group. This acquisition fits into our long-term strategy to expand not only in our core segment of small arms, but also in related areas, with ammunition being a natural complement to our products. 

CBC Global Ammunition, in addition to Sellier & Bellot, owns Magtech, CBC Brazil, and MEN Germany. Magtech will continue to serve as the US distributor for Sellier & Bellot after the sale to Colt CZ. Fabio Mazzaro, CFO for CBC Global Ammunition, calls this the “starting point of an impactful strategic collaboration.” He went on to add that they were convinced of Colt CZ’s long term vision and that this transaction will lead to “remarkable value creation between the ammunition and firearms segments.“

To sum up, Czechoslovak Group (CSG) will be acquiring both Vista Outdoor’s Sporting Products group and a majority stake in Perazzi shotguns. Meanwhile, Colt CZ Groupe will be buying Czech ammunition maker Sellier & Bellot.

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Leadership Changes At Savage Arms

December 18, 2023 by 2 Comments

Al Kasper, CEO of Savage Arms for the last 10 years, will retire at the end of the year. He has been with Savage for more than 25 years. His original position with Savage was as Chief Financial Officer. He will remain on the Savage Arms board of directors.

Replacing him will be Chris Bezzina who will become the new President and CEO. Bezzina has been with Savage since 2007 primarily in engineering and operations. He led the engineering teams that developed such products as the AXIS rifle, the Accustock, and the A17 platform.

From the press release:

“Al’s impact is evident in every aspect of our company,” said Chris Bezzina, Savage’s new President and CEO. “His knowledge in operations, finance and product development helped fuel our growth as a company. As the new leader of this organization, I look forward to continuing the momentum Al helped create, driving Savage to be an industry leader in innovative technologies, and expanding upon our best-in-class manufacturing capabilities.”

“I’m excited for the future and want to thank the entire Savage team for their hard work and dedication over the years,” said Kasper.  “I look forward to staying involved as a member of the board and watching as Chris and the team drive Savage to new heights with ideas generated by those leading this great organization.”

Savage was part of Vista Outdoor from 2013 until 2019 when they became an independent company again. Kasper led the management group that purchased Savage Arms from Vista Outdoor.

I have a number of Savage rifles, both old and new including an AXIS in .223, so I am happy to see what seems like a seamless change in leadership. Savage has always produced very good rifles but never seemed to get the attention that a Remington or a Winchester did which is a shame. I will be taking my rebarreled Savage 111 in .338-06 to Africa next year and I have no doubt it will perform flawlessly.

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Who Is Not On The Witness Lists

December 12, 2023 by 2 Comments

NRA In Danger had a post yesterday on the pre-trial disclosure, witness lists, and exhibits in the NRA’s trial in New York. It appears that all parties with the exception of Josh Powell have produced witness lists and exhibits. Some such as Woody Phillips and John Frazer have relatively short witness lists. For example, Mr. Phillips only lists himself as a witness. By contrast, the witness lists for both the State of New York and the NRA are quite extensive. I have embedded the State of New York’s list as it includes both their witnesses as well as those of the defendants along with estimated time for cross-examination.

I will leave it to NRA In Danger to go into more detail on the pretrial disclosures. What I’d like to point out is who is not on the list.

First, there is Joe DeBergalis who has served for a number of more recent years as the Executive Director of General Operations. One of the issues brought up in the New York Attorney General’s case against the NRA is how “troublesome” people are pushed out. Given he was replaced just this past week, I would have thought he would be an obvious person from who to require testimony. However, both his replacement Andrew Arulanandam and his executive assistant Lisa Supernaugh are on the list for a combined 3.5 hours of questioning plus another 45 minutes of cross-examination.

Next, I am surprised that former NRA Managing Director of Tax and Risk Management Emily Cummins is not on the witness list. She spent over 12 years at the NRA dealing with tax, compliance, and risk management issues. She had raised questions regarding billing by Brewer, Attorneys and Counselors, which became public in 2019. She resigned under pressure from Bill Brewer and his alleged “burn books”. Ms. Cummins has a reputation as an ethical person who actually believed in the mission of the NRA and was greatly concerned over questionable expenditures.

Finally, how can you talk about dysfunction in the Board, sweetheart deals, and friends of Wayne without including Marion Hammer. A friend pointed out to me last night Marion would have been an incredibly hostile witness if called by the New York AG. Heck, she is hostile even on her good days! I can see Bill Brewer making the decision to keep Marion under wraps as she knew too much, helped Wayne too much, and got too much. It is obviously a case of letting sleeping dogs lie or in Marion’s case, cat ladies.

I know New York does not televise court proceedings. That is a shame as watching this trial would have been interesting. Indeed, New York could have made it a pay per view and I’m sure they would been able to offset some of their budget deficits.

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Why Bayonet Lugs On ARs Are So Dangerous

December 12, 2023 by 2 Comments

I never understood the gun prohibitionists’ preoccupation with bayonet lugs on AR-15s. It seemed every one of their attempts at an “assault weapon” ban included this feature as a disqualifying feature. Only the US Marine Corps still has bayonet training in our military as the Army has abandoned it. The last major US military bayonet charge was during the Korean War. I will note the British Army did very effective bayonet charges in both Afghanistan and Iraq.

Mike Williamson examines a number of the bayonets for the AR-15/M-16 in his Sharp Pointy Things YouTube below.

I have a surplus M-7 bayonet as well as a surplus M-9. I think, without checking, my M-9 was made by LanCay and not Phrobis. That said, I am very envious of Mike’s modified Swiss Pioneer bayonet!

If you want to learn more about bayonet fighting, there are many free manuals on the Internet. You can bayonet training manuals for the armed forces of many countries including the US, Japan, and the UK. They make for interesting reading.

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Thoughts On NRA General Operations Changes

December 8, 2023 by 3 Comments

In the last couple of days I’ve talked to a number of people about the replacement (firing?) of Joe DeBergalis with Andrew Arulanandam as Executive Director of General Operations at the NRA. The people have included both current and former directors, former NRA staff, and outside observers. The one theme that constantly was brought up is the bylaw provision (Article V, Sec. 2 (f)) that the Executive Director of General Operations serves as the interim Executive VP/CEO if the Office of Executive VP is vacant. He or she would then serve until the next meeting of the Board of Directors.

One theory was that Wayne LaPierre wanted an absolute loyalist heading General Operations in order to approve his legal bills in case the New York court removed him as Executive VP and CEO. This is not to say DeBergalis was not a loyalist to Wayne. One person went so far as to say “his head was up Wayne’s ass”.

Another theory that plays off the one above is the Bill Brewer orchestrated the change and wanted “his guy” in that position. One person who had butted heads with Brewer said Arulanandam was an “acolyte” of Brewer. DeBergalis was not considered, I am told, as amenable to the whims of Brewer. Thus, if Wayne is removed, Brewer has someone in position to keep the money flowing to him until it all runs out.

As to the Board of Directors having any advanced knowledge of this move by Wayne, I was told there was none. Jim Shepherd of the Outdoor Wires confirms that in his post today.

Speaking with a current NRA board members, it seems there was no conversation -at least with them- regarding the abrupt decision. DeBergalis, a retired former New York police official, is a former Board member and longtime NRA supporter.

We’ve reached out to him -and others- and have gotten no response as of this writing. If/when we get any insight, we’ll share it with you.

Wayne was within his powers to replace DeBergalis. Article V, Sec. 2 (c) of the Bylaws explicitly gives him that power without any recourse by the Board unlike the Secretary or Treasurer who can only be suspended with pay.

From all I’ve read over the years and the anecdotes I’ve heard, Wayne is a weak man who has a hard time making a decision. He has relied over the years on others to lead him. This has included his one-time BFF Tony Makris, his wife Susan, his late mentor Angus McQueen, and now Bill Brewer. If I had to bet house money, I would say that Bill Brewer convinced Wayne that it was in Wayne’s best interest to replace DeBergalis with Arulanandam. That it was also in Brewer’s interest should go without saying.

The trial in New York begins a month from today and the Board meets in Dallas on January 5th. All I can say is that January will be an interesting month.

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A Day That Will Live In Infamy Plus 82 Years

December 7, 2023 by 2 Comments

My parent’s generation had the attack on Pearl Harbor while the tail end of Gen X and the early millennials had 9-11. Boomers like myself and the rest of Gen X never had a singular attack on our country that caused us to rush to recruiting stations to enlist.

Battleship row with torpedoes streaking toward the USS West Virginia

It is not like we didn’t have wars like the Vietnam War or the first Gulf War. We had incidents like the Cuban Missile Crisis and Iranian Hostage Crisis. But it was the Cold War for the most part and attacks and conflict were elsewhere. After Pearl Harbor we vowed never to be taken by surprise again until we were in 9-11. However, it was a group of non-state actors who perpetrated that attack while we were looking elsewhere. That finally taught us that evil and attacks could come from any direction.

USS Arizona’s forward magazine exploding

I’m glad we never had another attack like Pearl Harbor. I do wish we as a country could be as united as we were back then but the world is a different and less innocent place now. In a world dominated by mass communication, whether over the airwaves or the Internet, the posters below seem almost naive. Unfortunately.

Finally, remembering Doris “Dorie” Miller, the Complementary Spouse and I visited the Doris Miller Memorial in Waco, Texas last October. It lies in a park along the Brazos River.

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A PR Flack In Charge Of NRA General Operations?

December 6, 2023 by 1 Comment

You have to be f’ing kidding me. The NRA trial in the State of New York starts in approximately one month and Wayne LaPierre picks now to replace Joe DeBergalis, Executive Director of NRA’s General Operations, with the organization’s PR flack. What in the hell is going on?

Photo: WAVE 3 News

This went out today:

Effective immediately, I have appointed Andrew Arulanandam as interim executive director of NRA General Operations, replacing Joe DeBergalis. We wish Joe and his family all the best.

Andrew has more than 23 years of experience with the NRA, working for the Association and NRA-ILA. He currently serves as the managing director of public affairs. During his career, he has assisted with a wide range of corporate initiatives, messaging and crisis communications programs, and events at the local, regional, and national levels. He held numerous senior leadership positions in private and public organizations before joining the NRA.

Please join me in congratulating Andrew on his new position and in thanking Joe for his service to the NRA.

Wayne

I started hearing a rumor about DeBergalis being ousted yesterday but could not get a confirmation. Now I have nothing against Andrew Arulanandam other than I can never pronounce his name properly but this makes no sense whatsoever. His expertise according to his LinkedIn profile has always been politics and communications strategy.

As I said in the first paragraph, what the hell is going on in Fairfax? And why now?

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Be Aware When Renewing Your NC CHP

December 3, 2023 by

Grass Roots North Carolina recently sent out an alert on an issue that has come with renewals on North Carolina Concealed Handgun Permits. It seems some mental health organizations are trying to bill the permit holder for the mental health records check. This violates state law.

Here is what GRNC has to say about it:

It has come to our attention that some Mental Health Companies have been billing individuals that are renewing permit a fee for doing a records check.

Don’t fall for it.

Submitting the bill is a violation of NC law.

In the 2015 Legislative Session GRNC was instrumental in changing the NC CHP statute pertaining to the renewal of Conceal Handgun Permits. It reads as follows:

NCGS § 14-415.15 “The sheriff shall make the request for any records concerning the mental health or capacity of the applicant within 10 days of receipt of the items listed in G.S. 14-415.13. No person, company, mental health provider, or governmental entity may charge additional fees to the applicant (emphasis mine) for background checks conducted under this subsection.”

Send the invoice back and tell them to submit it to your sheriff’s office. 

So if you are renewing your permit, be aware and don’t be conned into paying for the records check when state law forbids it.

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Hello, LaGrange; Goodbye, Ilion

December 2, 2023 by 2 Comments

After 217 years, Remington is leaving Ilion, New York. RemArms LLC, the post-bankruptcy successor to Remington Arms, announced yesterday that they will be closing down the plant in Ilion and moving all operations to their new location in LaGrange, Georgia. The Ilion plant will close in March 2024.

From the Utica Observer-Dispatch:

“I am writing to inform you that RemArms, LLC (“the Company”) has decided to close its entire operations at 14 Hoefler Avenue, Ilion, NY 13357 (the “Ilion Facility”),” begins the letter ending two centuries of history. “The Company expects that operations at the Ilion Facility will conclude on or about March 4, 2024. The Company did not arrive at this decision lightly.” 

The layoffs should take place between March 4 and March 18, wrote Brian Wheatley, director of benefits and compensation for the firm in Kernersville, North Carolina, to officials with the United Mine Workers of America. 

The 270 workers at the plant are represented by the United Mine Workers of America. After saying the union had worked tirelessly with the company, the workers, and local officials to keep the plant open, they are calling this move a “slap in the face”.

The union contends that:

“The simple fact is that RemArms will never be able to match the experience and dedication of the workers in Central New York, who for generations worked in this plant and kept this company alive.

“We urge RemArms LLC to reconsider this decision and explore alternative solutions that would allow the Ilion plant to remain operational. The extensive cleanup for abandoning this plant could potentially cost the town of Ilion and the state of New York a massive amount of money.

Last November, Georgia officials including Gov. Brian Kemp (R-GA) welcomed the news that Remington was moving their global headquarters to LaGrange as well as building an “advanced manufacturing operation” there. Remington also planned to put a R&D center in LaGrange as well.

Village of Ilion Mayor John Stephens told the Albany Times-Union that he was not surprised by the news.

Stephens said the pending move became clear over the last few years as more and more models of firearms production were pulled out of Ilion and moved to LaGrange, Georgia.

Currently, he said, the company still makes its popular 700-model hunting rifles and shotguns in Ilion. Previously, the factory also made firearms for police and military use.

Ilion is hoping to find another tenant for the historic Remington plant given the need to warehouse space in the region.

Remington posted a video announcement by CEO Ken D’Arcy of the decision to consolidate in LaGrange. In his announcement, D’Arcy made note that Georgia has been welcoming to the firearms industry. He said keeping the old plant going was becoming cost prohibitive and that legislative environment in New York was a major concern.

I don’t think any observer of the firearms industry is surprised by the news. Perhaps the real surprise was that they actually restarted the Ilion plant after the bankruptcy given its age and the toxic nature of New York politics. Losing a major employer always hurts and it especially hurts in such a small town as Ilion.