In July, Vista Outdoor sold Savage Arms and its subsidiaries, Fox and Stevens, to Long Range Acquisition LLC, an investment group that includes Savage’s current president and CEO, Al Kasper, for a price of $170 million.
As part of Vista’s new “transformation plan,” the sale is intended to help the corporation cut costs, merge management, offload debt and focus on growth in fields in which it can emerge as market leaders, such as ammunition, hunting and shooting gear, and other outdoor products.
“Divesting our Savage brand was a key aspect of our transformation plan,” said Chris Metz, chief executive officer of Vista Outdoor. “While it was a difficult decision to sell such an iconic brand, I remain confident that this was the correct choice to help Vista Outdoor grow in those categories where we can have leadership positions. Savage is a fantastic business, and it deserves to continue to evolve into other firearms categories. At this time, however, we simply do not have the resources to transform Savage into the full-service firearms company that it deserves to be and, therefore, we determined the brand would be better off with a different owner. We’re excited to see Savage reach its full potential under new ownership.”
President and CEO of Savage Al Kasper expressed gratitude to Vista Outdoor for its support of the Savage brands, and believes the gun company has a bright future in its newfound independence.
“We want to thank Vista Outdoor for the support. They invested in us and provided guidance in the transformation of the Savage brand, further developed our product portfolio allowing entry to new markets,” said Kasper. “[We’re] an extremely strong brand and in a great position to keep charging forward. The momentum gained under Vista will propel us for future success. It is business as usual and Savage is excited to continue building on existing relationships within the firearms industry.”
