White Wolf Capital

Uncategorized

Stag Arms: Goodbye Connecticut, Hello Wyoming.

November 18, 2019 by 3 Comments

Stag Arms announced two big changes today. Chad Larsen has been selected to be the new President of Stag effective immediately. On top of that, the company is relocating from New Britain, CT to Cheyenne, WY. The relocation will be completed by the end of 2019.

Stag Arms had announced in June their intention to leave Connecticut. They had previously thought about moving in 2013. However, due to family and supplier ties, Mark Malkowski, then president, decided to remain in New Britain. This time they were serious and began a national search.

In making today’s announcement, Elie Azar, Founder and CEO of White Wolf Capital, LLC, which owns a controlling interest in Stag
Arms, said: “We decided it was time to do a complete refresh of the Company. We needed to solve for three things: visionary
customer-centric leadership, a business-friendly, pro-growth economic environment, and a cultural climate that reflects Stag’s brand
image of independence and free spiritedness. I am pleased to report that we have found a solution that hits all these points.”


To find a new location for the Company, Stag’s Board of Directors conducted a rigorous process comparing dozens of potential sites
against a stringent set of criteria. “Cheyenne came out on top on most of the individual criteria,” said Azar, “and considering our
requirements as a whole, it was by far the superior site. Not only is Wyoming an incredibly hospitable place to do business, it is also a
top destination for outdoor recreation, including hunting and shooting sports, which reflects its citizens’ unwavering support for the
Second Amendment.”

Gov. Mark Gordon (R-WY) was understandably pleased.

I am pleased to welcome Stag Arms to Wyoming and to know that our state came out on top of a broad look at potential new homes for the sought-after company. We have a deep-seated commitment to the Second Amendment that I will continue to uphold.

When Stag Arms announced their intention to leave Connecticut, business development officials for Cheyenne and the State of Wyoming didn’t waste any time reaching out to them. They helped with site location, workforce evaluation, and introduction to the community.

New president Chad Larsen comes to Stag from Aero-Precision where he headed new product development. This is not that surprising given that White Wolf Capital also owns Aero-Precision and Ballistic Advantage.

Azar noted, “Chad’s innovative genius with the Modern Sporting Rifle
platform stems from his personal emersion (sic) in the shooting and hunting community. He knows what customers want—and what they
don’t—because he is one of them.” Mr. Larsen is both an avid hunter and a registered 3-Gun, Multi-gun and USPSA competitor.

As yet another firearms company leaves “Gun Valley” thanks to high taxes, a poor business climate, and antipathy to firearms, what had been the center of the firearms industry is slowly becoming a shadow of its former self.

Uncategorized

Stag Arms Leaving Connecticut

June 8, 2019 by 1 Comment

The Stag Arms’ Board of Directors announced that they plan to relocate the company out of New Britain, CT. The new location has not been finalized yet.

The full text of the announcement was posted on Facebook:

Today, Stag Arms announced that its Board of Directors has decided to relocate the company from its current facility in New Britain, CT, as part of its strategic initiative to significantly improve the overall customer experience. The location of Stag’s new headquarters has not been finalized but the Board has narrowed down the options to a short list of vibrant communities where there is significant support for the firearms industry.

Stag Arms President, Anthony Ash, stated: “Not since the founding of our Company in 2003 have there been so many great things happening at once. We began our journey with a commitment to bring customers innovative products with uncompromising quality through 100% American Made components. We pioneered the left-handed Modern Sporting Rifle and from Day 1 we have backed all of our rifles with Infinite Shot Barrel and Lifetime Transferable Warranties. Our recent release of our newest product line of PXCs, Stag’s innovative multiple pistol caliber AR, continues the tradition.”

Mr. Ash further stated, “Stag is creating a seamless, integrated value chain that will incorporate best practices from design and engineering, to manufacturing, omni-channel customer engagement, fulfillment, and service. The pieces are in place and we are ready to transition production and fulfillment operations immediately from a narrow facility-based approach in New Britain to a distributed eco-system.”

The Board expects to finalize the location of the headquarters in the next few months and the company then will begin the process of relocating sales and remaining back office functions to the new headquarters location.

Back in 2013 Stag almost moved to either Houston or Myrtle Beach, SC. Then company CEO Mark Malkowski made the decision to remain in Connecticut due to expense involved with the move. You may also remember that PTR Industries left the same area of Connecticut about that time for Aynor, SC.

Ownership of Stag Arms changed hands in 2016 due to running afoul of BATFE regulations. Malkowski and Stag pleaded guilty to charges involving unregistered machine guns. As part of the plea deal, Malkowski was forced to sell the company and was banned from the industry. White Wolf Capital bought Stag Arms and added it to their portfolio which also included Ballistic Advantage, VG6 Precision, and Aero-Precision.

New Britain town officials were not surprised by the announcement.

New Britain Mayor Erin Stewart said the announcement “comes as no surprise.”

“We have known for many years that Stag has been courted by other states following the passage of more stringent gun laws here in Connecticut,” she said in an emailed statement. “Quite frankly, I’m surprised it took this long.”

While none of the potential locations have been named, I’m going out on a limb here and saying it won’t be Tacoma, Washington which is the home of Aero-Precision given the recent changes in Washington State gun laws. More likely, is a relocation nearer to Ballistic Advantage which is in a suburb of Orlando, FL.

Uncategorized

Interesting Buyout

March 14, 2016 by 4 Comments

Back in late December, Mark Malkowski and Stag Arms LLC ran afoul of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. Stag Arms pled guilty to one felony charge of possession of unregistered machine guns and Malkowski pled guilty to a misdemeanor charge of failing to maintain proper records. The plea agreement required Malkowski to sell the company and is banned from owning or managing a firearms company.

Fast forward to February 29th. White Wolf Capital of Miami, Florida announced that it had acquired Stag Arms LLC from Mr. Malkowski. He will be retained as a consultant by White Wolf. They said that they intended to keep the company operating out of its existing facility in New Britain, Connecticut. Malkowski said the purchase was aligned with his concern for his employees.

Formal sentencing is scheduled for March 29. Considering the criminal charges, the sale and Malkowski’s earlier thoughts about moving the company, the outcome is better for New Britain and Central Connecticut than many people might have expected. In the end, it was the employees who kept the company local, Malkowski said.

“We had a lot of offers and we had a lot of people who had a lot of opinions but this one group was the one that aligned with the direction I was going,” he said. “You spend sometimes more time with your employees than you do with your family…if not for that I wouldn’t be here today.”

So a private equity firm buys a gun company. Big deal. We’ve seen that before. However, to me what makes this interesting are the other companies in White Wolf’s portfolio. In addition to Stag Arms, White Wolf owns Ballistic Advantage, Aero Precision USA, and VG6 Precision.

Tacoma, Washington-based Aero Precision is a major higher-end maker of AR components for the OEM market. In recent years, they have moved into making full firearms as well as uppers, lowers, and rails under their own label. Ballistic Advantage is barrel maker specializing in better quality AR barrels and components. They have partnered with Aero Precision on barrels. Finally, VG6 Precision, which was purchased by Aero Precision last fall, makes muzzle devices for both the AK and AR.

It looks to me like White Wolf is looking to build synergies in the good-to-better quality AR market. It will be interesting to see how they use the OEM capabilities of Aero Precision to work with Stag Arms. For all I know, Stag could have been a customer of Aero Precision for years.

Unlike a lot of buyouts, this one makes sense to me. I wish them luck in a competitive market.