The details of firearms icon Remington's Chapter 11 Bankruptcy outcome will take at least another week to filter out as the sale hearing scheduled for Wednesday has been postponed.
Originally set for Sept. 23 and 24, the hearing in a federal bankruptcy court in Northern Alabama has been delayed after Remington's debtors filed a motion to reschedule earlier this week. The new date will be Tuesday, Sept. 29, continuing for as many as four days if needed. Attorneys said bids are still rolling in.
"This morning, included, was a productive morning, both in terms of price and bid terms, and we're advised more bids will be coming in this afternoon," said Steve Warren, of the O'Melveny & Meyers Firm, which represents the debtors. "We are waiting for those. We have been having preliminary conversations with consultation parties and anticipate another round of those discussions this afternoon."
In the company's July 27 initial Chapter 11 filing, Remington requested to continue paying wages and benefits to employees while pending a sale to bidders. Founded in 1816, the company today includes many household names beside Remington including Barnes Bullets, Advanced Armament Corp., Marlin, and Dakota Arms.
Earlier this month JJE, the private-equity firm that owns Palmetto State Armory, and Remington filed a stalking horse bid with the court in the proposed amount of $65 million for Big Green's ammo business to include Barnes Bullets and their Arkansas factory. However, as pointed out by investment sites, such a bid makes that slice of Remington's pie ripe for better offers from companies like Vista Outdoor, maker of Federal, American Eagle, and Speer; or Olin who manufactures ammo under the Winchester banner.
Meanwhile, Remington is reportedly set to close down their Madison, North Carolina plant, has prepped their historic Ilion, New York plant for the worst, and leaders in Huntsville, Alabama, where the company has a mega-factory under a $12.5 million lien from the city, are pursuing their claims against the company should a buyer not be found.
“Our biggest desire would be to see a company come in and be a successor company to Remington and do the same thing and employ people and keep people employed in Madison County,” said Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle last month. “But if we can’t, we want to make sure we protect our dollar interest."
This is not Remington's first brush with bankruptcy. In March 2018, after "experiencing a significant decline in sales and revenues," the company filed for Chapter 11 protection and entered reorganization. After restructuring, it emerged in May 2018 with a more streamlined capital structure. At the end of 2019, the company amassed $437.5 million in total net sales, a steep decline from 2015 and 2016 when it saw $808.9 million and $865.1 million in sales, respectively.
In recent months, the company has closed down legacy AR-15 lines such as Bushmaster and DPMS as well as black rifle accessory brand TAPCO, a move that has flooded the secondary market with parts branded by those subsidiaries.
According to the ATF’s Annual Firearms Manufacturers And Export Report for 2018, the most current data publicly available, Remington produced at least 273,246 rifles, 155,480 shotguns, and 33,724 handguns that year.
