At first, I didn’t think too much about this development:
America’s largest gunmaker, Sturm Ruger & Co., accused the parent company of Italian arms firm Beretta of trying to stealthily seize control of the Connecticut-based business through “self-serving demands” such as cut-price stock buys and veto-like board power.
The Todd W. Seyfert-led giant hit back on Monday at the historic firm’s proxy fight, which was first reported by The Post on Feb. 25, that branded the move as a thinly-veiled threat to launch “a war” and complete a full takeover.
Ruger claimed Beretta quietly built a large stake, refused to halt purchases during negotiations and sought perks that could break US antitrust laws that prevent companies from unfairly dominating markets.
“At that meeting, Beretta’s chair indicated a long-term plan to combine Ruger with Beretta but made no formal proposal,” Ruger said in a statement issued via a spokesperson.
“Beretta’s chair also indicated that he had no interest in the status quo and that he would find a way to increase his position if Ruger remained resistant,” the company added.
Looks like the usual corporate dogfight, dunnit?
Then I looked at some of the small print:
Beretta announced plans two weeks ago to nominate four new members to sit on Ruger’s nine-member board after the publication of The Post’s exclusive story.
The names are William Franklin Detwiler of Fernbrook Capital, Mark DeYoung, the ex-Vista Outdoor CEO, Frederick Disanto of Ancora Holdings and Michael Christodolou of Inwood Capital.
Oh, how nice.
And what do capital funds typically do? Under the guise of “giving more value to shareholders”, these fucking vultures systematically strip and sell assets from companies they come to control. And having four out of nine directors means they can pretty much do whatever they want — unless of course, the other five directors can hold the line and kick back against them, with shareholder support.
Sounds good, but that’s not the way to bet.
So what can we do, as ordinary folks? Not a whole bunch, except make Ruger a priority or a first choice on our next gun purchase. I wish there was more we could do, but there it is.
I have a bad taste in my mouth and a bad feeling in my gut…
Vulture capital firms + Gun industry = Bankruptcy and dissolution of Remington, America’s oldest gun making company
Venture capital firms are a necessary evil and must be watched very very carefully. They make the rothchilds etc look like saints.
I guess that’s my sign to go buy one of the new Ruger-made Marlins before it’s too late.
There is one other thing you can do. Sturm & Ruger stock ( RGR ) is down 45% over the last 5 years. As of this morning it’s at $ 38.45. You might want to also pick up 100 shares. Beretta on the other hand is a closely held family operation and share are not publicly traded. The VCs own approximately 10% of Beretta. These types of fights tend to boost the price of the target company. But I don’t provide financial advice and YMMV so do your own research, Small Print disclaimer etc. etc.
To take whatGT3Ted talks about, and this is not FINANCIAL advice, it’s political and tactical advice.
Buy what for you is a reasonable number of shares in RGR. Say somewhere between 5 shares and 50 shares. This makes you part owner of the company, and you get a vote.
Convince other people to buy *small* amounts of RGR stock, not enough to be an economic decision, but enough that they too get a vote.
Might I suggest folks grab their Ruger built Marlin lever actions?
https://www.marlinfirearms.com/s/leverAction/
I bought an SBL in .357 mag last summer, and I’m very pleased with it. Great build quality! https://www.marlinfirearms.com/s/leverAction-SBLSeries/
The rationale (as if I really needed one) was that it is a companion piece to my Kimber K6S carry piece. As a traditional lever long gun, it is among the least problematic travel guns I own, given that SCOTUS has yet to hammer the commie states into paste with Bruen.
IMHO
many of these vulture capital (very well named) firms promote/finance anti-gun legislation and oppose not only the 2nd amendment, but many other portions of the U.S. Constitution as well
I certainly wouldn’t like Merlin back under the influence of VCs, but i also remember old man Ruger throwing us all under the bus and conspiring with the Clintons to pass the Assault Weapons bill but keep a couple of Ruger’s products off the list. My sympathy for the Fudd family is somewhere between Slim and None, and Slim left town….
Smith and Wesson did similar but worse. Locks on revolvers? WTF
I also think S&W quality control is absolute shit.
But then again many things since the CONvid SCAMdemic are shit quality.
That was not the same as current SW owners.
I hope Beretta stays out of Ruger majority ownership.
Ruger is my favorite revolver brand.
They make quality guns at fair prices (everything is expensive these days)
The guns work well and if you have any issues Ruger customer service kisses your ass to make it right
GP100 4 inch stainless 357 is my favorite revolver. I also like the LCR as runner up. And can’t forget to mention the best single action 22 the Single Six.
I agree with the above comment I do like
The looks of the lever action 357 Marlin. Always wanted Henry lever but that Marlin looks sweet. I’ll have to save my money.
357 is an awesome round.
I used to like the beretta 92. Until I tried the Sig P229 and P226.
Sig classic like (200 series guns – 229, 226, 220) are superior to the Beretta 92.
Modern Sig’s and Modern Beretta’s suck.
Wait till you try a classic SIG 210…