Gun Trade News: Issue 76

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GUN TRADE NEWS

BRITAIN’S ONLY SHOOTING INDUSTRY PUBLICATION NEW GUNS LAUNCHED

ISSUE 76 APRIL 2022

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£4.95

BERETTA BUYS RUAG AMMOTEC Mega deal brewing for three years set to change the face of European firearms manufacturing

Pietro Gussalli Beretta, President and CEO of Beretta Holding

THE Italian firm Beretta Holding has announced that it has signed a binding agreement to acquire total ownership of Swiss ammunition manufacturer RUAG Ammotec, subject to mandatory government approvals. The move, which sees one European giant swallow another whole, is the largest the gun trade has seen in years and has sent shock waves through the industry. RUAG’s last posted figures show a turnover of over £400 million pounds in 2020 (CHF497 million) and it employs around 2,700 people across Europe. It is probably best known for its heritage European smallarms ammunition brands such as RWS, Norma, Rottweil and Geco. Pietro Gussalli Beretta, President and CEO of Beretta Holding, stated: “This is a very special moment in the history of our group. We warmly welcome the employees of RUAG Ammotec to our group, having worked for almost three years on this project. During this time we have recognised that RUAG Ammotec is a

very good cultural fit with our group, and a strong, competent and experienced management is in place. This will help tremendously to integrate RUAG Ammotec into our group.” Beretta has a firmly established manufacturing capacity in guns and optics; this combined with RUAG Ammotec’s expertise in ammunition will surely see them become a one-stop shop for government and other agencies and make them immediately one of the bigger players in the global defence market, with a combined turnover close to £1.5 billion. While no exact buyout price has been made public, the involvement of Italian takeover specialists Mediobanca suggests that the sums involved were significant. While the clear aim of the deal is to create a defence superpower in Europe, quite what the implications are for the UK leisure market is less clear. In particular, several brands distributed by RUAG Ammotec in the UK, such as Perazzi, will no doubt be left wondering what the outlook is

for them now. In the short term it will no doubt be business as usual, but longer term there may well be some shifting of assets and renegotiation or termination of agreements resulting from this sale. No one from GMK, Beretta’s UK subsidiary and distributor, was prepared to comment publicly on the news, though one insider did tell Gun Trade News that the deal had been done with minimal participation from GMK, and that it was waiting like everyone else to fully understand the implications. GTN

“The news is

the largest the gun trade has seen in years ”

SAVE THE DATE FOR THE WORLD GUNMAKERS’ EVENING 2022 World Gunmakers’ Evening announces new date and venue for this autumn THE World Gunmakers’ Evening is set to take place on a new date this year—Wednesday 9 November—and in a new, larger venue: namely the Armoury House on Gunmakers Lane in the heart of the City of London. The Armoury House is a Grade II-listed 18thcentury manor house that’s home to the Honourable Artillery Company. The World Gunmakers’ Evening will be held in the Prince Consort Rooms, an impressive vaulted-ceiling former drill hall. The 2021 World Gunmakers’ Evening took place on November 3 and was a great opportunity for the gun trade to get together and look at beautiful examples of the finest English craftsmanship, as well as that from further afield. We covered the event in GTN 72 with a pictorial review of some of the smiling faces from the meet. Originally founded in 2015, the repeatedly soldout indoor tabletop event brings together the very best gunmakers and shooting brands from around the globe along with 500 guests for an evening of canapés and champagne. Event director James Gower commented: “This hugely popular event always sells out in record time, so we have doubled capacity this year so that more guests can attend. Our new venue certainly strikes

the right note and will be a real draw for exhibitors and guests. This year’s event will showcase even more gunmakers from all four corners of the world.” Early bird tickets cost £95. For more information, visit the website at: worldgunmakers.com GTN

INSIDE THIS ISSUE…

JAMES HORNE

WINNERS

STORE OF THE MONTH

Meet the man reinvigorating the Gunmakers’ Company Charitable Trust

Who scooped the accolades at the Great British Shooting Awards?

Someone’s making their Premier appearance…

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