Colt files for bankruptcy.

[xl_target]

Yes, mismanagement has killed the legend.
In this day of huge firearms sales, the management of Colt has managed to drive one of the most respected in the business into the ground.
As posted on another forum, poster "broadside" said it well:

The owners of the company structured it so that the bondholders (most of whom are owners) would suck the cash out of the company while the managers (most of whom are also owners) would pay themselves huge management fees.
It wasn't incompetence that has killed Colt. It was greed, plain and simple.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companie ... ar-BBl9xhf

The company that made “The Gun That Won The West” has lost its battle with a $350 million debt mountain.

Colt Defense LLC, maker of firearms from the legendary Peacemaker pistol to the M4 rifle used by today’s U.S. Army, said late Sunday it’s filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, two years after losing a key Army contract for the M4.

The filing follows increasingly desperate attempts to restructure its debt over the last two years, the last of which was rejected by a large majority of bondholders. It has secured $20 million in financing from senior lenders in order to ensure it can keep operating in bankruptcy. A court-supervised auction of some of the company’s assets is now expected.

[chicky]

A great pity indeed, many like me who were fans of Colt's products are going to feel very disappointed.
How can one fail with a legend and good product ?

Fellow griever,

Chicky

[aadhaulya]

A huge loss to the world. At least for me, I have been a fan of colt, the 1911, peace maker etc. Though I may not own one and never hope to own one in India, but it still makes me sad. I always did dream of owning the range of guns if I could manage to shift to the USA.

[timmy]

I love old Colts. I'm lucky enough to have a few. I'll never have one, but I always would have liked to have had a Colt Lightening pump rifle, preferably the big one in .50-95. This was not because it was or is the best, but because it was a Colt.

What a horrible shame to lose this gunmaker, although they had for years been only a famous name. Gone are the days of so many wonderful pistols and revolvers. How sad.

[AgentDoubleS]

Thanks for sharing this, Xl. Heartbreaking indeed.

Though i suspect the Trademark Colt will be bought over by an enterprising businessman and so will the patents and production will start again under a new ownership; if not in a few years maybe a decade. The name is too big and well established to die down. Nostalgia is a great money spinner too.

To the purists it will not be the same, to the newer generation, it wouldn't matter...Or so i think. Will be interesting to see how it pans out.

[brihacharan]

I had a lump in my throat when I saw the announcement in the Times of India this morning!
"Colt files for Bankruptcy"....I rubbed my eyes twice & re-read the write -up....
The "Brand" COLT had indeed become generic & associated with handguns & soon it'll be a fond but aching memory...
This famous quote says it all...."God made a MAN & a WOMAN - Sam Colt Made them Equal"!!!!
Briha

[Mark]

I suspect that when all the smoke has settled and the assets sold off, the Colt name will be seen rising from the ashes in a new company. It is the most iconic of all the gunmaking names and there is too much profit to be made with it so someone is going to do it.

Timmy, I agree those Lightning rifles were pretty cool. Taurus made a copy in 45LC and 38/357 that they called the Thunderbolt (get it, wink wink). Nice handling rifles and they have a takedown screw too.

[ckkalyan]

The prancing horse to prance no more? Sad but as Mark says, maybe it will rise again from the ashes like a Phoenix!

[timmy]

I'm sure some outfit will pick up the Colt brand. Hopefully, they will not be a pack of rapacious, tasteless oafs like the current management.

When I was young, downtown Chicago had an Abercrombie and Fitch store. It was one of my favorite stops, because it had the most exotic guns. Marshall Field's Men's Annex had a lot of nice guns, but Abercrombie and Fitch had guns that were a cut above what Marshall Field's carried. This was where I first saw a real Purdey, with four sets of barrels in a green lined leather case. I think the price was a five figures, and that was in the 1960s.

Abercrombie and Fitch catered to the safari trade and had stuff to match. The fishing section was across from the guns, but even though I wasn't into fishing and never shopped that pRt of the store, I'm sure their fishing gear was just as high-grade as the guns.

On the first floor,they had all sorts of exotic stuff that a wealthy man would buy to furnish his home. I recall a large chair that looked like an egg,with a matching ottoman. A person could sit inside this egg and hear wonderful music, as the chair was equipped with a sound system. This was very cutting edge stuff in the 1960s!

But, Abercrombie and Fitch went out of business, and the current bunch of hucksters bought the name to sell clothes made in the third world (paying the workers pennies a day while they pocketed millions, no doubt) and modeled by half naked (or more) underage kids.

How sad. I hope that this is not the fate of the fate of Colt,although I fear it will be.

[hvj1]

I suspect that when all the smoke has settled and the assets sold off, the Colt name will be seen rising from the ashes in a new company. It is the most iconic of all the gunmaking names and there is too much profit to be made with it so someone is going to do it.

I agree with you 100 % Mark that is precisely how it will pan out.

[herb]

A sad day for all gun lovers, so much history and nostalgia is associated with this brand. Like AD5 & Mark wrote, the brand will be back again, we have seen it again and again with Mantons, RIgby, Winchester, Marlin etc. The quality & success of the new guns will depend on the new owners but some of the legendary gun's personality & character will be lost.

[brihacharan]

A sad day for all gun lovers, so much history and nostalgia is associated with this brand. Like AD5 & Mark wrote, the brand will be back again, we have seen it again and again with Mantons, RIgby, Winchester, Marlin etc. The quality & success of the new guns will depend on the new owners but some of the legendary gun's personality & character will be lost.

Briha

[essdee1972]

Sad! M&As almost always kill brands..... heritage brands which people have grown up with! Even in India with our large disarmed populace, Colt was synonymous with handguns.

And Tim, the fate of Abercrombie and Fitch is quite common in the M&A world.

VC management is the worst you can have.

Praying for the employees, many of whom, poor fellows, will be on the street now! Hope they get re-employed, soon.