Smith & Wesson up for sale & UPS in trouble

From today's (i.e. Tuesday 4 January) SSAA e-mail alerts:

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Handgun maker Smith & Wesson says it not for sale


SPRINGFIELD, Mass., Jan 3 (Reuters) - U.S. handgun maker Smith & Wesson on Monday denied a British newspaper report that it is being put up for sale by its parent company, the British conglomerate Tomkins Plc.

``I am told that the people at Tomkins were very surprised at the story because we are not for sale,'' Ken Jorgensen, a spokesman for Smith & Wesson, told Reuters.

The Financial Mail on Sunday newspaper reported that Tomkins had decided to sell Springfield, Mass.-based Smith & Wesson, one of the oldest and best-known small arms makers in the world, and that a sale might realize more than $160 million.

Tomkins, whose other businesses include a car parts manufacturer and a bread maker, had no comment on the report.

Jorgensen said Tomkins may eventually decide to sell the gun maker but that no talks are in the works. ``Everything is for sale at a price, so to say that we would never, ever be sold would certainly not be a very smart statement,'' he said. ``But it is not something that is in the works.''

He added, ``What may have happened (with the newspaper report) is that Tomkins has been refocusing the company in a couple of specific areas -- building materials and automotive industry. And I kind of wonder if
someone didn't put two and two together and get six, thinking that Smith & Wesson isn't either of those, and therefore they must be for sale.''[/quote]

B
 
As I posted elsewhere, If S&W goes up for sale we should all pursue the purchase by the NRA. With the money they waste on their wasteful mailings, They could afford to do so.They could become self suffiecient and we as members would become stock holders. This would be a wonderful thing to shove under the noses of the Antis and Komrad Klinton.
I like it.

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Help Stamp Out Gun Ignorance.
 
It would take every NRA member tossing in an extra $50-$60. I doubt if the NRA has a $160,000,000 cash surplus.
 
As a NRA member, I would be more than happy to contribute an additional $50 to $60 for the NRA to purchase control of S&W.

Johnboy
 
I'd personally be willing to pony up as much as I could spare -- couple of grand to keep S & W viable and in our hands!
 
Wouldn't the NRA's purchase of S&W give the appearance of a conflict of interest, at least in the anti's eyes? Why give them any more angles of attack than they already have? Just a thought. Besides, I'm not so sure the NRA could handle a business. They are the slowest-responding organization I've ever seen.

How many times have we heard denials of rumors one day, and then confirmation of them the next in all areas of life? Only time will tell if the S&W rumor is true. If it is, let's hope that whichever conglomerate or person that gains control of S&W is unapologetically pro-gun, has good business sense, and is vehemently anti anti-gunner.
DAL

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Reading "Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal," by Ayn Rand, should be required of every politician and in every high school.
 
I don't think a conflict of interest should stop us (the NRA) from pursueing this. I would certainly ante-up as much as possible to hold stock and allow the voting rights to the NRA. Let the company officials run the business as they have been, the company ownership would be secure in the hands of friendlies.
 
GUN OWNERS ALLIANCE
!!ALERT!!
Chris W. Stark - Director
P.O. Box 1924
Crosby, Texas 77532-1924
Ph. 1-281-787-4111 Fax 1-281-328-7505
http://www.GOA-Texas.org
email: Director@GOA-Texas.org

03 January 2000
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CEO of Smith & Wesson says purchase rumor IS false

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Copyright © 2000 by Gun Owners Alliance (GOA-Texas).
Republication permitted ONLY if this e-mail alert
is left intact in its original state.
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Today, I made the comments below to Ed Schultz, CEO of Smith & Wesson (S&W):

"Oh please don't let Colt buy S&W! They've already stopped
most of their own civilian handgun sales, and have promised
the same for H&K when they complete their purchase of that
company."

I made this comment in reference to the Reuters news article referenced below.

Ed Schultz, CEO of Smith & Wesson sent the following reply to my comment:

# # # # # BEGIN REPLY FROM CEO ED SCHULTZ OF S&W # # # # #


Chris, I don't think you have much to worry about. This, so far is no more
than another rumor. Makes good press though. Since Y2K didn't amount to
much, apparently this is the best the media could find on a "SLOW NEWS" day.
Ed

# # # # # END REPLY FROM CEO ED SCHULTZ OF S&W # # # # #


We can only hope, Ed, that your words will remain true. And "if" they
are, we will stand with you and S&W. Our support to S&W is conditional
based on your company's loyalty to us. Will you stand with us?

There are many of us that are counting on S&W to stand with the common
American gunowners. If S&W sells out to Colt's owner, or someone who is
equally as bad, we lose another gun manufacturer.

GOA-Texas subscribers, please contact Ed Schultz, CEO of S&W, and pledge
your support to stand with S&W, as long as they stand with us. S&W also
has a legal defense fund you can contribute to if you are so inclined.
Their mounting legal bills are enormous, due to the frivolous class-action
lawsuits against them.


mailto:eshultz@smith-wesson.com
http://www.smith-wesson.com/


Below is the article Ed Schultz, CEO of S&W commented on:

# # # #

http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/003/business/Tomkins_reportedly_to_sell_Smith_Wesson+.shtml

Tomkins reportedly to sell Smith & Wesson

Sale to undisclosed buyer could raise up to $161.6m

By Reuters, 1/3/2000

LONDON - British-based "guns-to-buns" conglomerate Tomkins PLC has
decided to sell US handgun maker Smith & Wesson, the Financial Mail
on Sunday newspaper reported.

Springfield, Mass.-based Smith & Wesson, one of the oldest and most
well-known small arms makers in the world, is the "guns" part of a
conglomerate that includes a car parts manufacturer and a bread maker.

The newspaper, citing sources close to the company, said the sale to
an undisclosed buyer could raise as much as 100 million pounds ($161.6
million).

A Tomkins spokesman said the company had no comment.

Tomkins's reported plans to sell Smith & Wesson follow news late last
year of a possible sale by BAE Systems PLC of German small arms maker
Heckler & Koch to US gun maker Colt for about $100 million.

Tomkins's share price has fallen 29 percent in the last year and
underperformed the FTSE by 42 percent, prompting Tomkins to announce
in July it would spin off early this year its European food operations,
which include Hovis breads, Bisto gravy, Mr. Kipling cakes, and
Robertson's jam.

Tomkins said then it wanted to focus on its industrial and automotive
operations.

But the Financial Mail said the prospect of class-action lawsuits against
gun makers in the United States could block any sale of Smith & Wesson.

"Tomkins will [sell Smith & Wesson] if it can, but until the lawsuits
are settled it may be difficult to sell," the source close to Tomkins
was quoted as saying.

The Clinton administration said in early December it would file a class
action lawsuit against the gun industry in 2000 unless manufacturers
agreed to make major changes in the way they market and distribute guns.

Administration officials said the US Department of Housing and Urban
Development is readying a lawsuit on behalf of 3,200 public housing
authorities around the country to recover the costs associated with
gun violence, estimated at around $1 billion a year.

Twenty-eight cities, including Chicago, Los Angeles, and San Francisco,
already have sued makers of handguns to get reimbursement for municipal
spending related to gun violence - on police and emergency medical
services, for example.

The 144-year-old Smith & Wesson company is seen as one of those most at
risk of having to pay damages from the lawsuits because it makes large
numbers of handguns, some of which find their way into the hands of
criminals who kill close to 100 people in the United States every year.

This story ran on page A07 of the Boston Globe on 1/3/2000.
© Copyright 1999 Globe Newspaper Company.

*******

NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material
is distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed
a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit research
and educational purposes only.


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Dal: According to the anti-gun movement, and their fellow travelers in the media, the NRA is enaged in a conflict of interest any time we refrain from opening our arteries with a rusty pocket knife; Why bother worrying about the opinions of people who will ALWAYS have a bad opinion of us?

For the NRA to raise the funds to buy S & W would be a cinch; They've scarcely ever tested the limits of what the membership can do with a clear game plan and no compromise from above... Though '94 showed a fraction of what the NRA is actually capable of in a pinch.

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Sic semper tyranus!
 
As I posted above getting all members to do this then we would all become stock holders. Since the current management of S&W seems to be doing a good job they would stay in control. Just think instead of taking a stock dividend we could get a free handgun instead.
I'll vote to buy it and ante up whatever to keep S&W solvent and in good hands. Don't want to lose another great American institution. I also believe S&W has a fine line of shooting implements, Never had one I didn't like.

Happing Shooting :)

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Help Stamp Out Gun Ignorance.
 
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