Remington Confirms Details of Chapter 11 Bankruptcy

It's official, Remington and its subsidiaries have filed for voluntary Chapter 11 reorganization this week, and intends to sell some or all of its assets in September.

The July 27 filing, in a U.S. Bankruptcy Court in North Alabama, where the company has a mega factory in Huntsville, requests to continue paying wages and benefits to employees while pending a sale to bidders. Founded in 1816, Remington today includes many household names including Barnes Bullets, Advanced Armament Corp., Marlin, and Dakota Arms.

"Remington is in active discussions with a number of parties and will continue to engage with parties interested in a going-concern sale,"' said the company in a statement published Wednesday, going on to say it "expects to solicit bids prior to an auction to be held in September 2020."

In New York, where the company has based its legendary headquarters and flagship factory at Ilion for the past 200 years, company officials say they have no control over what happens in the coming weeks.

Notably, the company’s New York plant was forced to shutter by order of Gov. Andrew Cuomo due to COVID-19 restrictions earlier this year.

"Where we make guns remains to be seen. That's going to be honestly up to the new owners, as to what they do with the business and what sites they continue. We are very hopeful and we are optimistic, but I don't know if I would say it's likely," Billy Hogue, Remington's Vice President, Firearms Operations, told media. "Our business is in the hands of the courts and the courts will run this bidding process and we can't guarantee the outcome."

This is not Big Green's first brush with bankruptcy. In March 2018, after "experiencing a significant decline in sales and revenues," the company filed for Chapter 11 protection and entered reorganization. After restructuring, it emerged in May 2018 with a more streamlined capital structure. At the end of 2019, the company amassed $437.5 million in total net sales, a steep decline from 2015 and 2016 when it saw $808.9 million and $865.1 million in sales, respectively.

In recent months, the company has closed down legacy AR-15 lines such as Bushmaster and DPMS as well as black rifle accessory brand TAPCO, a move that has flooded the secondary market with parts branded by those subsidiaries.

According to the ATF’s Annual Firearms Manufacturers And Export Report for 2018, the most current data publically available, Remington produced at least 273,246 rifles, 155,480 shotguns, and 33,724 handguns that year.

Remington has proposed to the court an auction date of Sept. 8.

Guns.com