Acquisitions & Reorganizations

 I was thinking the other day about how many gun companies over the years have changed ownership and thought I would do a post on the ownership histories of some of the gun companies.

We'll start with one of the oldest gun companies:

While most call the company famous for their lever action rifles Winchester, it only went by that name once.

1852 - Smith & Wesson Company founded to develop the lever action Jennings-Hunt pistol. The company is re-organized as the Volcanic Arms Co.

1855- Oliver Winchester invests in the Volcanic Arms Co. 

1856 - Smith & Wesson both leave the company, Oliver Winchester forces the company into receivership and buys out the remaining partners.

1857 - Winchester moves operations to New Haven, and reorganizes the company as the New Haven Arms Co.

1866 - New Haven reorganized into Winchester Repeating Arms Co.

1931 - Winchester goes bankrupt, purchased by Western Cartridge Co (Olin Corp).

1935 - Winchester & Western formally merge company renamed Winchester-Western Co.

1980 - Olin sells the gun making business to the employees, it is renamed "US Repeating Arms Company."

1989 - US Repeating Arms goes under, bought by a French holding company

1989 - assets are purchased by Herstal Group (FN/Browning)

2006 - New Haven plant closed; manufacturing moved.

1816 - E. Remington & Sons is founded upstate New York

1828 - Remington opens factory at Ilion New York

1873 - Remington begins making typewriters

1886 - Remington sells typewriter business (becomes Remington-Rand)

1888 - Remington is purchased by Marcellus Hartley & Partners, renamed Remington Arms Co.

1912 - Remington merged with Union Metallic Cartridge Co. (founded in 1867), HQ moved to Bridgeport, CT

1933 - Remington Arms/UMC is purchased by DuPont Corp.

1934 - Remington Arms acquires Peters Cartridge Co. (founded in 1887)

1993 - Remington Arms/UMC/Peters is purchased by Clayton, Dubilier & Rice.

2007 - Remington purchased by Cerberus Captial Management, becomes part of "Freedom Group" subsidiary.

2007 - Remington acquires Marlin Firearms

2015 - Freedom Group renamed Remington Outdoor Company

2018 - Remington Outdoor files for bankruptcy

2020 - Remington goes under, parts of the company are auctioned off, Ruger buys Marlin, Vista Outdoor buys the ammunition side. Rem Arms LLC now owns the Remington Firearm business.

1870 - founded by John Marlin, a pistol maker

1901 - John Marlin dies, his sons take over

1915 - Marlin purchased by Wiliam Bonbright & Co and Kissell-Kinnicut & Co.

1916 - Marlin renamed Marlin-Rockwell Corp.

1917 - Marlin-Rockwell purchases Hopkins & Allen Arms Co.

1921 - Marlin-Rockwell reorganized into the Marlin Firearms Corp.

1922 - Marlin goes bankrupt and closes its doors

1924 - Marlin's assets & liabilities purchased at auction for $100 by lawyer Frank Kenna.

1925 - Marlin resumes operations focusing on sporting arms.

1968 - Marlin moves to a new plant in North Haven, closes the New Haven plant.

2000 - Marlin purchases H&R 1871 Inc

2007 - Marlin is purchased by The Remington Freedom Group

2010 - Marlin's North Haven plant closes, production is moved to Remington facilities.

2018 - Remington Outdoor files for bankruptcy

2020 - Remington goes under

2020 - Marlin purchased by Sturm, Ruger & Co.

1852 - Horace Smith & Daniel Wesson form the Smith & Wesson Company to develop the Jennings lever action pistol.

1855 - Smith leaves the company returns to Springfield, MA

1855 - The company is renamed Volcanic Arms and taken over by Oliver Winchester who moves it to New Haven

1857 - Wesson rejoins Smith and founds the Smith & Wesson Revolver Company.

1874 - Smith sells his portion of the company to Wesson

1965 - Controlling interest is purchased by conglomerate Bangor Punta

1987 - London based Tomkins PLC purchases Smith & Wesson for $112.5M

2000 - Tomkins PLC make an agreement with President Bill Clinton, which spawns a boycott, sinking the stock price.

2001 - Saf-T-Hammer purchases S&W for just $15M

2002 - Smith & Wesson changed name to Smith & Wesson Holding Corp.

2016 - S&W Holding Corp, changed its name to American Outdoor Brands Corp.

1836 - Samuel Colt founds the Patent Arms Manufacturing Company of Patterson NJ

1838 - Patent Arms Mfg. Co goes bankrupt

1847 - Samuel Walker orders 1000 revolvers from Colt

1847 - Colt founds the Colt's Patent Fire-Arms Manufacturing Company

1848 - Colt builds the Hartford factory

1862 - Samuel Colt dies

2002 - Colt splits off its defense group into Colt Defense LLC

2015 - Colt reunites Colt Manufacturing and Colt Defense LLC

2016 - Colt files for bankruptcy

2021 - Colt is purchased by CZ

2022 - Colt renamed Colt CZ Group

1926 - Carl Swebilius founds High Standard Company as a tool & die company in New Haven, CT

1932 - High Standard purchases the Hartford Arms & Equipment Co.

1945 - High Standard moves to Hamden, CT

1968 - High Standard is purchased by The Leisure Group

1977 - High Standard relocates to East Hartford

1978 - Employees purchase High Standard

1984 - High Standard goes bankrupt and is purchased by Gordon Elliot

1990 - High Standard is purchased by American Derringer Corp.

1993 - The assets and name is purchased and moved to Houston, TX

1994 - High Standard of Houston begins making pistols

2001 - AMT is purchased by High Standard of Houston

1894 - Savage Arms founded by Arthur Savage in Utica, NY

1897 - Company reformed with new investors

1905 - Savage sold his interest in the company

1915 - Savage is purchased by Driggs Seabury-Ordnance Co.

1920 - Savage purchases J. Stevens Arms from New England Westinghouse

1930 - Savage purchases A.H. Fox, Davis-Warner and Crescent Arms.

1946 - Utica plant closes and manufacturing moves to J. Stevens factories.

1960 - all production moved to Westfield, MA

1988 - Savage files for bankruptcy & reorganizes

1994 - Savage purchases Lakefield Arms of Canada

2013 - Savage purchased by Vista Outdoors

2019 - Savage/Stevens purchased by a group of employees

1859 - Frank Wesson (brother to Daniel B Wesson of Smith & Wesson) and Nathan Harrington found a gun company which fails shortly after.

1871 - Frank Wesson starts another business called Wesson & Harrington in Worcester, MA

1874 - Harrington buys out Wesson and forms new partnership with William Richardson, the new company is Harrington & Richardson.

1894 - H&R build large factory in downtown Worcester.

1897 - both Harrington & Richardson die the same year

1964? - H&R is purchased by the Kiddie Company (makers of fire extinguishers).

1986 - H&R files for bankruptcy

1991 - the company is reorganized as H&R 1871 Inc.

2000 - Marlin purchases H&R 1871 Inc.

2015 - Production of H&R guns ends

2020 - JJE Capital Holdings Corp purchases H&R 1871 Inc, they also own Palmetto State Armory

1877 - The Smith brothers (L.C. and Leroy) along with W.H. Baker found the W.H. Baker Gun Company in Syracuse, NY.

1883 - Leroy & W.H. Baker leave the company to start Ithaca Gun Company in Ithaca NY

1916 - Ithaca purchases the Lefever Arms Co.

1967 - Ithaca was purchased by Jerry Baldrich & Assoc.

1971 - Ithaca is made part of General Recreation Inc.

1985 - General Recreation goes bankrupt

1987 - Ithaca is purchased by Ithaca Acquisition Corp and moves production to Kings Ferry, NY.

2005 - Floyd Marshall purchases Ithaca Acquisition Corp, moves everything to Upper Sandusky, OH.

2007 - Dave Dluback purchases Ithaca Acquisition Corp and renames it Ithaca Gun Company.

1864 - Joshua Stevens founded J. Stevens Arms & Co. in Chicopee Falls MA

1883 - Stevens Arms & Co purchased Massachusetts Arms Co.

1886 - Reorganized as J. Stevens Arms & Tool Co.

1896 - J. Stevens Arms & Tool Co purchased by I.H. Page.

1915 - J. Stevens Arms & Tool Co purchased by New England Westinghouse

1916- Renamed J. Stevens Arms Co.

1920 - J. Stevens Arms purchased by Savage Arms

1945 - The division is renamed Stevens Arms

2019 - Vista Outdoor purchases Savage/Stevens for $170M

1877 - Founded in Lisle, NY, moved shortly after to Syracuse

1880 - Baker and Leroy Smith sold their interest to brother L.C. Smith.

1880 - WH Baker and his brother form a new company called the Syracuse Gun & Forging Company.

1880 - Baker Guns renamed L.C. Smith Shotgun Co.

1886 - L.C. Smith starts making typewriters, sells gun business to Hunter Arms.

1888- After a fire the Baker Brothers move operations to Bativa, NY 

1889 - WH Baker dies

1890 - Syracuse Arms & Forging changes name to Baker Gun & Forging Co.

1919- Baker Gun & Forging sold to H&D Folsom.

1930 - The last shotgun with the Baker name is made.

1945 - Hunter Arms is purchased by Marlin

1871 - Johnson & Bye Company founded in Worcester, MA

1883- Johnson bought out Bye and renamed the firm Iver Johnson & Co.

1891 - Company relocates to Fitchburg and changes name to Iver Johnson Arms and Cycleworks

1971 - Iver Johnson was purchased and relocated to New Jersey

1980s - Iver Johnson is purchased by Lou Imperto (owner of Henry) and moved to Arkansas.

1993 - Iver Johnson name no longer used and no Iver Johnson products being manufactured.

2006 - Squires Bingham (owned by Armscor) purchased the rights to the name and begin using it on guns imported into the US.

Andrew Fyrberg & Co

 

1896 - Andrew Fyrberg & Company is founded

1899 - Fyrberg commits to selling 100% of his production to Sears

1904 - Fyrberg sells the entire company to Sears, it was relocated and renamed Meriden Firearms Co.

1907 - Fyrberg leaves Meriden and founds Andrew Fyrberg & Sons Manufacturing Co.

1916 - Meriden Firearms is sold to New England Westinghouse

1917 - Colt buys Meriden from New England Westinghouse.

1919 - The plant and production is shut down, some designs are made by Savage and Mossberg for a few years.

1980 - Arcadia Machine & Tool Founded as a stand-alone company by Harry Sanford along side his Auto Mag Corp. in El Monte, CA.

1985 - AMT moves to Covina, CA

1987 - AMT moves to Irwindale, CA

1988 - AMT reorganized into Irwindale Arms Inc.

1998 - IAI is purchased by Galena Industries, moves to Sturgis S.D.

2001 - Galena goes bankrupt

2002 - High Standard of Houston Texas buys Galena/AMT & moves operations to Houston.

1938 - Dan Wesson (grandson of founder DB Wesson) goes to work at Smith & Wesson

1965 - Smith & Wesson is purchased by Bangor Punta, that same year Dan Wesson starts a tool & die company.

1968 - Dan Wesson cofounds Dan Wesson Arms Inc.

1978 - Dan Wesson dies on Veteran's Day, his son Seth takes over

1990 - DW Arms goes bankrupt

1991 - DW Arms is purchased by Seth and others, name changes to Wesson Firearms.

1995 - Wesson Firearms goes out of business.

1996 - NY International Corp (Bob Serva) purchases Dan Wesson Arms moves operations to NY. Only the name is used, no revolvers are manufactured.

2005 - CZ-USA purchases the Dan Wesson company and name, begins producing revolvers again.

1903 - Herbert William Cooey opens a machine shop in Toronto

1914 - Cooey gets military contract for training rifles

1919 - Cooey introduces the Canuck .22 LR rifle, name changes to HW Cooey Machine & Arms Co.

1929 - Cooey moves to Coburg near the shore of Lake Ontario

1937 - company is turned over to HW's son Hubert

1957 - Hubert dies and Herbert comes out of retirement to run the company

1961 - HW sells the company to Olin's Winchester-Western Canadian division

1980 - Winchester Canada closes the factory

1980 - Lakefield Arms buys the rights and tooling for the Cooey model 64.

1994 - Savage buys Lakefield Arms and continues to manufacture the model 64

1836 - Ethan Allen and his brother-in-law Charles Thurber start a gun company in Upton, MA, named Allen & Thurber

1837 - Allen brings his other brother-in-law Thomas Wheelock into the company.

1842 - the company relocates to Norwich, CT.

1847 - the company relocates to Worcester, MA

1854 - the factory burns in a fire, they move to another factory in Worcester

1856- Thurber retires, Wheelock becomes partner, name changes to Allen & Wheelock

1863 - Wheelock retires, Sullivan Forehand (Allens son-in-law) becomes partner in the business, the company is reorganized as Allen & Company.

1865 - Henry Wadsworth joins the company and marries Allen's other daughter.

1871 - Ethan Allen dies, the company is reorganized again as Forehand and Wadsworth.

1876 - The factory is moved once again, still in Worcester

1890 - Wadsworth sells his shares to Forehand, the company is reorganized once more to Forehand Arms Company

1898 - Sullivan Forehand dies of a heart attack, his two sons (grandsons of Ethan Allen) run the company.

1902 - the company is sold to Hopkins and Allen

1916 - Hopkins and Allen go bankrupt and is purchase by Marlin-Rockwell

1863 - Thomas Bacon opens the Bacon Arms Co. in Norwich CT

1865 - Bacon sold his interest in the company & goes to work for another company.

1888 - Bacon Arms goes under and is purchased by George Cilley, the name is changed to Crescent Arms

1892 - Crescent moves to a new factory on Holly Hock Island in Norwich

1893 - Crescent is purchased by H&D Folsom

1930 - Savage buys Crescent Arms from H&D Folsom

1935 - the Crescent-Davis division of Savage is dissolved

1938 - the last gun with the Crescent name is produced.

1852 - Thomas Bacon starts a gun company in Norwich CT

1854 - Thomas Bacon leaves the company, sells his shares

1867 - The company goes bankrupt, Charles Hopkins and Charles Allen along with 3 other investors buy the tooling and factory. The new company is named Hopkins & Allen.

1874 - 50% of the company is bought by Merwin & Hulbert

1878 - Hopkins & Allen move to a larger facility in Norwich

1894 - Hulbert brothers go bankrupt and sell their share of Hopkins & Allen

1900 - Hopkins & Allen factory burns to the ground

1901 - a new factory is built on the same site

1901 - Hopkins & Allen purchase WH Davenport Fire Arms

1902 - Hopkins & Allen purchase Forehand & Wadsworth

1916 - Hopkins & Allen go bankrupt and are purchased by Marlin-Rockwell

1981 - Dornaus & Dixon incorporates in Huntington Beach CA

1983 - samples of the Bren Ten pistol displayed at the SHOT show

1984 - Miami Vice debutes, the Bren Ten is used on the show

1986 - D&D goes under and ceases operations

1986 - The Bren Ten Corporation is organized and buys the rights to the pistol.

1987 - The company is reorganized as Peregrine Industries.

199? - Peregrine goes bankrupt.

1969 - Auto Mag corporation is founded in Pasadena CA by Harry Sanford.

1975 - Auto Mag goes under, a new company with the investment of Lee Juras is formed, Trust Deed Estates or T.D.E.

1982 - TDE goes bankrupt

1996 - Harry Sanford dies

2015 - Harry Sanford's son, Walter sells the rights to the pistol

2015 - A new company, Auto Mag LTD Corp is formed in South Carolina.