Mystery company buying up U.S. gun manufacturers

Lined up in a gun rack beneath mounted deer heads is a Bushmaster Carbon 15, a matte-black semiautomatic rifle that looks as if it belongs to a SWAT team. On another rack rests a Teflon-coated Prairie Panther from DPMS Firearms, a supplier to the U.S. Border Patrol and security agencies in Iraq. On a third is a Remington 750 Woodsmaster, a popular hunting rifle.

The variety of rifles and shotguns on sale here at Cabela's, the national sporting goods chain, is a testament to America's enduring gun culture. But, to a surprising degree, it is also a testament to something else: Wall Street deal-making.

In recent years, many top-selling brands - including the 195-year-old Remington Arms, as well as Bushmaster Firearms and DPMS, leading makers of military-style semiautomatics - have quietly passed into the hands of a single private company. It is called the Freedom Group - and it is the most powerful and mysterious force in the U.S. commercial gun industry today.
Never heard of it?

You're not alone. Even within gun circles, the Freedom Group is something of an enigma. Its rise has been so swift that it has become the subject of wild speculation and grassy-knoll conspiracy theories. In the realm of consumer rifles and shotguns - long guns, in the trade - it is unrivaled in its size and reach. By its own count, the Freedom Group sold 1.2 million long guns and 2.6 billion rounds of ammunition in the 12 months ended March 2010, the most recent year for which figures are publicly available.

Behind this giant is Cerberus Capital Management, the private investment company that first came to widespread attention when it acquired Chrysler in 2007. (Chrysler later had to be rescued by taxpayers). With far less fanfare, Cerberus, through the Freedom Group, has been buying big names in guns and ammo.




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Freedom Group has become one of the most important gun-makers in the United States, but its "quiet takeover of the American gun industry" has spawned rumors and even conspiracy theories.

　
On Sunday, The New York Times -- intended to whip-up gun control advocates more than educate the public about the firearms industry. Despite its political bent and subtle swipes at the 2nd Amendment, the piece did provide some historical background and supporting factual data regarding Freedom Group and its operations.
Freedom Group, which is privately held, currently owns many top-selling U.S. gun brands — including the 195-year-old Remington Arms, as well as Bushmaster Firearms and DPMS.
A series of acquisitions have led Freedom Group to become most powerful force in the American commercial gun market, and the single biggest long gun manufacturer. About 20% of all long guns and 1/3 of all ammo in certain major chain stores such as Cabela’s are estimated to be products of the Freedom Group.
　
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Long gun makers must be held criminally responsible when their guns kill a person.

Then the car manufacturer should be held responsible if some drunk runs down a pedestrian.

Dollars to toroid pastries say it's a Chinese company.

If it's owned by Cerberus, it's not really a mystery, is it?

Cerebus is just an investment firm.

The person doing it is George Sorso and here's a video of what is going on.

What do you mean by 'just an investment firm'?

And you should be held responsible for allowing it to happen. Why not, manuf. of baseball bats and pitch forks would be responsible for what damage their products cause under your premise.