Deals
From Out of the Blue, a $1 Billion Bid for America's Biggest Gun Company
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Never a dull moment in the gun industry. A little-known Palm Beach (Fla.) technology company has made an unsolicited $1 billion cash offer to buy the largest American firearm and ammunition manufacturer, Freedom Group. The target is currently owned by the private equity firm Cerberus Capital.
Several things seem surprising about this bid, which the would-be buyer, Global Digital Solutions, described in a March 11 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. For one thing, Global Digital, a publicly traded company, lacks a notable profile in the famously insular gun industry. Its outsider status guarantees that Global Digital will be greeted with skepticism within Freedom Group and by rival manufacturers and gun-rights advocates.