Beretta Acquires RUAG Ammotec – The Mag Life
Beretta Holding announced they’ve reached a definitive agreement for their acquisition of RUAG Ammotec. The RUAG Ammotec name encompasses a number of ammunition brands including Norma, Rottweil Munitions, Geco, and RWS. They are currently known as the leading European provider for small caliber ammunition. This is an interesting sale and it will be fascinating to see RUAG Ammotec transition to its new position within Beretta Holdings.
Pietro Gussalli Beretta, President and CEO of Beretta Holding, said of the acquisition, “This is a very special moment in the history of our Group. We warmly welcome the more than 2,700 employees of RUAG Ammotec to our Group having worked almost three years on this project. We have the firearms and the optics, RUAG Ammotec has the ammo, there is almost no overlap. This new addition to our group will add a substantial number of high-end brands to our existing portfolio of premium brands.”
As Beretta Holding pointed out, they already hold various firearms brands, but until now they did not have any ammunition to go along with it. Currently, Beretta Holding includes Beretta, Benelli, Franchi, A. Uberti, Stoeger, Sako, Tikka, Victrix Armaments, Chapuis Armes, Steiner, and Burris. With the addition of the RUAG Ammotec family of brands, they’ll have not just one but many ammunition labels covering the various firearms they produce.
There are a number of moving parts for Beretta Holding at the moment. In fact, they say they are currently adding five manufacturing sites and 16 new companies in a dozen different countries to their family of brands. Following the successful acquisition of RUAG Ammotec, Beretta Holding will have more than 50 subsidiaries all over the world. According to the holding group, their new ownership of Ruag Ammotec will not change the brands existing commitment to producing high quality ammunition for the Bundeswehr and the Swiss Army. The group states the Swiss Government made the request they continue this practice, and Beretta Holding will fully support and maintain the existing locations.
The process of applying for the mandatory governmental approvals has already been begun by Beretta Holding and RUAG International. The current expectation is that Beretta Holding will take full ownership of RUAG Ammotec within approximately six months. Terms and conditions of the transaction are not being disclosed at this time. In summation of the events, Pietro Gussalli Beretta said: “We have been very pleased by the deep understanding, full dedication, and high professionality of Mediobanca, always so close to worldwide operating traditional family-owned businesses.”
This acquisition will undoubtedly add to Beretta Holdings’ overall strength in the firearms industry and will hopefully lead to some innovative new loads for the firearms they produce.