Possible Taurus Takeover

[TwoForFlinching]

Taurus possible to buy out Freedom Group: Just another reason to loathe a turrible company.

http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/...gh-freedom-group-may-be-bought-out-by-taurus/

Advanced Armament Corporation
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DPMS Panther Arms
H & R Firearms
Marlin
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Para USA[5]
Parker Gunmakers
Remington Arms
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Remington PMPD
TAPCO



Bloomberg.com reports here that the Freedom Group firearms companies, which were put up for sale last month by Cerberus, have a suitor with cash in hand. Taurus! It turns out that the Brazilian company is the second largest firearms manufacturer in the world in terms of revenue, below Smith and Wesson and above Sturm Ruger.

American investors on Wall Street are running away from*publicly*traded gun companies at the moment. The estimated net value of all the major gun companies, including the Freedom Group, has plummeted in the last month. Enter Taurus, flush with cash after a tremendously successful period of growth in the past two years. Fiercely pro-gun rights and looking to expand ever further into the U.S. civilian market, they see Freedom Group as temporarily undervalued, and they want it. It’s classic capitalism– buy low, sell high. Buy something currently out of favor but which has a good track record of lasting value, and bet that you will profit like crazy later on when things turn around.

According to the Bloomberg article, the Freedom Group is expected to bring somewhere between $745 million and $1.13 billion in a potential sale. This is a big bite for anyone to chew– for example, Taurus accounted for about $300 million in net revenue last year, so presumably they would have to borrow a few bucks to seal a deal. But don’t underestimate the Brazilians, they are absolutely serious and they just might have the financial savvy to pull it off.

 

[RickN]

I own a couple of Taurus revolvers and like them a lot. They are as good as any other brand I own including S&W and Ruger.

 

[71buickfreak]

Why would this be a bad thing? It's kind of like saying that Ford buying GM because GM cars were used in bank robberies is bad business. Quite the opposite.

 

[J.P.]

I own a couple of Taurus revolvers and like them a lot. They are as good as any other brand I own including S&W and Ruger.

I've owned and/or handled older Taurus revolvers that were decent but certainly not the same level as S&W.
As for the newer Taurus products, I've seen far too much trash that I wouldn't trust my life to.
QC failures happen almost everywhere but considering the sheer 'miss-to-hit' ratio I've witnessed with Taurus they are very easy to write off.
I'll pass.......

 

[Kid Glock]

I've owned and/or handled older Taurus revolvers that were decent but certainly not the same level as S&W.
As for the newer Taurus products, I've seen far too much trash that I wouldn't trust my life to.
QC failures happen almost everywhere but considering the sheer 'miss-to-hit' ratio I've witnessed with Taurus they are very easy to write off.
I'll pass.......

+1
By their sales figures, someones buying their product, but it ain't me.
To those that are happy taurus customers, thats good. But I'm not one of them and this is not a one time isolated matter.
I'm not enthused about taurus acquiring those companies but it's probably better than closing the doors if it came to that.
Sounds like an opportunity for taurus and they can likely arrange financing but I think I'd prefer someone else end up with them.
Maybe an employee group or other investment company can come forward so can remain in production without taurus's involvement.

 

[RickN]

I've owned and/or handled older Taurus revolvers that were decent but certainly not the same level as S&W.
As for the newer Taurus products, I've seen far too much trash that I wouldn't trust my life to.
QC failures happen almost everywhere but considering the sheer 'miss-to-hit' ratio I've witnessed with Taurus they are very easy to write off.
I'll pass.......

I own an older M66 and a newer M85. The 66 is just as good as the S&W 66 I used to own and the 85 is as good as any snubbie I have ever fired. May be because I only own tried and true designs while staying away from the weirder new stuff.

 

[BallisticBiker]

Only problem I have with it is the fact that another big money generating company's profits will go to foreign soil. Even Budweiser isn't American owned anymore, for crying out loud.

 

[flatwins]

^^^^ Agree. And that's what the grabbers want.

 

[93 FOX]

I've been looking for a pocket pistol and every where I read the Taurus TCP gets better reviews than the Keltec, Ruger LCP and the Bodyguard. Better reliability too. My sister owns two of them and loves them. The only Taurus I own is an old wheelie gun that used to be my grandmothers. I did get a good deal on a PT140 and never had any problems with it.

 

[ASP785]

There are very few entities with 1 billion in cash on hand. Even fewer who may be willing to buy a conglomerate of gun companies. I doubt any investment bank would finance a deal that large having to do with the gun industry. Taurus, while some love to loathe, has invested heavily in the American market and shown they are pro gun. While they may be headquartered out of Brazil, the jobs they provide would indeed be in the US. My guess is they would use this manufacturing base to bring new products to the American market, which I believe would be nothing but a good thing.