#Bankrupt gunmaker Remington Outdoor to be sold in pieces

Bankrupt gunmaker Remington Outdoor will split up its business and sell the pieces to seven different buyers following a bankruptcy auction, court records show.

The biggest sale will go to Minnesota-based Vista Outdoor, which said it will pay $81.4 million for Remington’s brand and trademarks along with parts of its ammo and accessories business including an Arkansas ammunition factory.

Other buyers include outdoor-gear retailer Sportsman’s Warehouse, which will acquire the Tapco brand of gun parts and accessories, and Nevada-based gunmaker Franklin Armory, which is snapping up Remington’s Bushmaster rifle brand, records show.

The sales are expected to bring in at least $155 million that will be applied to Remington’s debts, The Wall Street Journal reported. The company filed for bankruptcy in July as it struggled with weak sales after a 2018 restructuring that slimmed down its hefty debt load.

It’s unclear how the proposed sales will affect a lawsuit Remington is facing over its marketing of the Bushmaster rifle, which was used in the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut, according to the Journal.

Families of the shooting victims who brought the lawsuit reportedly fear Remington’s bankruptcy could bring the case to an end. The suit was allowed to continue after Remington last declared bankruptcy in 2018, the Journal reported.

Remington did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday.