Cerberus - Who Owns Bushmaster, Remington, Marlin, and Dyncorp?

[One Revelator]

From Wiki:

Cerberus Capital Management, L.P. is one of the largest private equity investment firms in the United States. The firm is based in New York City, and run by 50-year-old financier Steve Feinberg. Former U.S. Vice President Dan Quayle has been a prominent Cerberus spokesperson and runs one of its international units.
<snip>

Founded in 1992, Cerberus is named for the mythological three-headed dog that guarded the gates of Hades. Feinberg has stated to his employees that while the Cerberus name seemed like a good idea at the time, he later regretted naming the company after the mythological dog.[1]

The company has been a very active acquirer of businesses over the past several years and now has sizable investments in automotive, sportswear, paper products, military services, real estate, energy, retail, glassmaking, transportation, and building products. In 2006, its holdings amounted to $24 billion.

On October 19, 2006, John W. Snow, President George W. Bush's second United States Secretary of the Treasury, was named chairman of Cerberus.

Note lower right signature. Check your wallet,  His name is probably on several bills in there.

J. Ezra Merkin is a partner in Cerberus. Merkin invested his funds into Cerberus and its portfolio companies. His Gabriel fund invested $79 million in Chrysler, $66 million in GMAC and $67 million in Cerberus partnerships, according to year-end statements.[2] The Gabriel Fund was a feeder fund for Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC.[3]

The Japanese bank, Aozora, a Cerberus company lost $137 million to Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC. Aozora was part of the investment group that acquired 51 percent of GMAC from General Motors. [4]

On April 12th 2010 Cerberus acquired the private military contractor DynCorp International.

Under “Notable Acquisitions”:

Firearms - Acquired Bushmaster Firearms, Inc., from Windham, Maine native Dick Dyke for an undisclosed sum in April 2006, and purchased Remington Arms in April 2007. Under Cerberus direction, Bushmaster Firearms acquired Cobb Manufacturing, a well-respected manufacturer of large-caliber tactical rifles in August 2007. Cerberus also acquired DPMS Panther Arms December 14, 2007.[23][24] Remington Arms acquired Marlin Firearms in January 2008.[25][26] In October 2009, Remington Military products acquired silencer manufacturer Advanced Armament Corporation.[27] These companies were combined into the Freedom Group.

Note the dates.  All consolidated within 4 years.
So, we have ex-government officials running a bevy of corporations that thrive on government contracts. All in the name of Cerberus, a demonic dog straight from hell.


Nothing obvious there. Surely, it’s all just coincidence.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cerberus_Capital_Management

[InsideJob]

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/12/04/BUJ91M4HL0.DTL&type=printable

...From its headquarters in Manhattan, Cerberus has assembled a remarkable arsenal. It began with Bushmaster, which until recently was based here in Maine. Unlike military counterparts like automatic M-16s, rifles like those from Bushmaster don't spray bullets with one trigger pull. But, with gas-powered mechanisms, semiautomatics can fire rapid follow-up shots as fast as the trigger can be squeezed. They are often called "black guns" because of their color. The police tied a Bushmaster XM15 rifle to shootings in the Washington sniper case in 2002.

After Bushmaster, the Freedom Group moved in on Remington, which traces its history to the days of flintlocks and today is supplying M24 sniper rifles to the government of Afghanistan and making handguns for the first time in decades. The group has also acquired Marlin Firearms, which turned out a special model for Annie Oakley, as well as Dakota Arms, a maker of high-end big-game rifles. It has bought DPMS Firearms, another maker of semiautomatic, military-style rifles, as well as manufacturers of ammunition and tactical clothing.

"We believe our scale and product breadth are unmatched within the industry," the Freedom Group said in a filing last year with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Some gun enthusiasts have claimed that the power behind the company is actually George Soros, the hedge-fund billionaire and liberal activist. Soros, these people have warned, is buying U.S. gun companies so he can dismantle the industry, Second Amendment be damned.

The chatter grew so loud that the National Rifle Association issued a statement in October denying the rumors.

"NRA has had contact with officials from Cerberus and Freedom Group for some time," the NRA assured its members. "The owners and investors involved are strong supporters of the Second Amendment and are avid hunters and shooters."

Soros isn't behind the Freedom Group, but, ultimately, another financier is: Stephen Feinberg, the chief executive of Cerberus...

[John_Back_From_The_Club_O]

Monsanto!

Hey, if it worked with seed companies.  Why not guns?

[InsideJob]

This company smells like a front. But for who?

[Jordan]

Some government backed company , CIA probably buys up on the Gun makers. Then the government announces that it's illegal to start any more gun companies , of course this is for every bodies good, this way we can't have too many guns on the street. Then the government which now owns all the gun manufacturing in the US just simply closes them  and of course no one but Gun owners will object. Now they wont have bullets to use so guns are basically expensive lamp stands.

Or something along those lines.  

Looks like from that article most of all those companies are or were in financial trouble to begin with.

Maybe Prison Planet Forum should start it's own Gun company and quickly sell it

[Jordan]

If you read down the post in this forum you'll find this post:

PS - Cerberus Capital Management Group purchased Remington in April of 2007.

Cerberus Capital Management Group is a privately held investment group with "investors" that reside in countries all over the world. While based in New York, they have satellite offices in London, Baarn, Frankfurt, Tokyo, Osaka and Taipei.

While the products of Remington are still being built here, the profits from all those sales are now being gobbled up by big business and being used all over the planet to support and stimulate economies, and make a sh1tload of money for their investors.

The only way to ensure you aren't giving money overseas with your firearms purchases anymore is to find a custom action builder who is based here, having them construct your action, buy a barrel from one of the great barrel makers up in Minnesota and a stock from someone like Lone Wolf I am afraid.

Sorry Man - It's the way everything is going I am afraid.

http://www.firearmstalk.com/forums/f18/factory-rifle-action-best-4060/

[RabidSheep]

This guy.

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_40/b3953114.htm



http://cityfile.com/profiles/steve-feinberg

Feinberg has very close ties to the Republican machine—former veep Dan Quayle and former Treasury Secretary John Snow both serve as co-chairmen of the firm, and Donald Rumsfeld is an investor in Cerberus. A major GOP political donor, Feinberg has directed hundreds of thousands of dollars to Republican candidates and causes over the past few years.

Named after the fearsome three-headed dog in Greek mythology who guarded the entrance to Hades, Cerberus has at least as many heads, acting like a hedge fund, private equity shop, and investment bank rolled into one.

The firm has gobbled up stakes in an array of businesses in recent years, from grocery-store chains (Albertsons) to car rental agencies (Alamo, National) to fast food (Burger King) to airlines (Air Canada); with more than 50 companies in the Cerberus portfolio—with combined revenue of more than $120 billion—it is now one of the most formidable private equity firms around.

[kita]

This company smells like a front. But for who?

think about.This is the exact way the Elite operate in every other industry they have taken over-buy up & destroy.

[kerrymti]

think about.This is the exact way the Elite operate in every other industry they have taken over-buy up & destroy.

I agree.  In a few years (if that long) we will be discussing how they were able to destroy the firearm business in the States.

[IridiumKEPfactor]

Firearm manufacturing in this country could be dissrupted by taking over just s few companies. It's mostly a productive capacity issue. Remmington is huge, but other places are reletively small. Rock River Arms in Illinois has a tiny building compared to the big guys. Its about 100 feet buy 100 feet. Ive Remmington was taken over or put out It would have to be about 10-20 plants or more to keep up with the national demand. Also there are some firearms companies that double as tool/machine shops and many of the smaller companies focus on higher end parts. Many are hammed with the demand now.

[Georgiacopguy]

I'm very surprised they have not started buying up the ammunition companies as well. Which makes me wonder if I should go ahead and invest in reloading equipment and supplies.

[donnay]

think about.This is the exact way the Elite operate in every other industry they have taken over-buy up & destroy.

What better way to issue gun control, in a stealth sort of way!   

[Libertarian Perspective]

This is exactly the way they have managed to get a lot of guns banned in England. While the gun control acts of 1920 and 1934 no one really took seriously in the Uk, they reckon the registration rate for firearms was like under 10%, Closing down of several Enfield factories and Royal Small arms factories ensured that not a lot of guns would be coming on the Uk market. Not even many ammunition factories exist anymore.

Now when you buy ammu in a British gun shop it says either: made in the USA or made in Serbia. Olin or Prvi Partizan, take yourt pick. So sometiems there are delivery issues causing bottelnecks with ammunition being shipped form the USA a whole area of Uk shooters get left with no ammunition.

[IridiumKEPfactor]

Here is a video on a remmington gun factory. That mass production equipment is expension. 1/2 million just for barrel forger.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajrUQmIjmcU&feature=related

I was slighly mistaken on RRA building size. I did not see the production line area.

[InsideJob]

I'm very surprised they have not started buying up the ammunition companies as well. Which makes me wonder if I should go ahead and invest in reloading equipment and supplies.

I'm pretty sure Remington sells more ammo than guns.

[Georgiacopguy]

I'm pretty sure Remington sells more ammo than guns.

I forgot all about their ammunition arm...Oh man, time to rethink my ammo plans then.

[global_fiefdom]

As long as guns are used for entertainment and not justice,
I doubt the gov't is half as worried about them as they say.
in a way it truly suits their purposes for a few crazies to be running around with weapons like that,
that way they will always be a foot in the door for pharma, taxes, regulators, color lists, etc.
They won't keep you from buying them I guess, but if you demonstrate stress disorder as a result of our sick country,
good luck exercising your rights!

I didn't like my uncle's assault rifle when i was a small child, it just said danger all over it to me,
and i was allowed to used rifles at far too early an age considering the lack of responsibility in my dad.
He was capable, which is good, but a bit too reactionary -- bad bad bad when you are a gun owner.

I only hope that all the people buying pistols and rifles out of casual interest understand that gun safety takes a while to properly learn,
and that mistakes happen to people with years of experience,
and it only takes one mistake of not securing or unloading your weapon for someone else in your house to be injured or injure you!
Google the video of a gun safety class instructor accidentally shooting a young woman who he'd called to be a volunteer.

@@

[Constitutionary]

This company smells like a front. But for who?

I'll bet a CFR member.

[TahoeBlue]

I'll bet a CFR member.

Madeleine Albright confronted on Bilderberg & New World Order Crimes

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601086&sid=aU1Dya07Rrr8&refer=latin_america
Madeleine Albright Raises $329 Million for New Fund (Update4) Last Updated: January 18, 2007 17:20 EST By Otis Bilodeau
...
Former Officials

John Snow, who stepped down as Treasury secretary last year to make way for Henry Paulson, in October was named chairman of Cerberus Capital Management LP, which manages $16.5 billion in hedge funds and private equity.

I missed this completely: followup coming...

McChrystal FIRED...against Iran plans, parasite contractors, genocide drones!
Cerebus to Buy Dyncorp
http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/Cerebus-to-Buy-Dyncorp-06313/
13-Apr-2010 18:18 EDT

Private investment firm Cerberus Capital Management, LP has reached a $1.5 billion deal to buy the support and security contractor DynCorp International, including the assumption of debt. The purchase price would be $17.55 per share – a 49% premium to the April 9/10 close of $11.75, and 12.4x the FY 2010 consensus forecast of $1.41 earnings per share. A “go shop” provision gives DynCorp 28 days to find a higher and better offer, if it can.

Affiliates of Veritas Capital Fund Management, L.L.C. have already executed a Voting Agreement in favor, swinging an aggregate of 34.9% of the outstanding shares. That level of support will make the deal very difficult to stop.

Note that 12.4x is still a low multiple, when compared to a number of more diversified public competitors like KBR and SAIC. Unfortunately, it’s difficult to compare DynCorp with privately-held security contractor peers like the similarly-controversial Xe (formerly Blackwater), IAP Worldwide Services, Triple Canopy, etc. The result is somewhat predictable…
...
Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Citigroup Global Markets Inc., Barclays Bank plc and Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. acted as financial advisers to Cerberus, and provided debt financing for the buyout. Evercore Partners was a non-financing advisor, while outside legal counsel included Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, and Jenner & Block, LLP.

DynCorp’s main financial advisor was Goldman, Sachs & Co. Outside counsel to DynCorp included Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP; plus Richards, Layton & Finger, P.A., who acted as special outside counsel to the Board of Directors.

http://forum.prisonplanet.com/index.php?topic=176133.msg1047240#msg1047240

Cerberus Capital Management
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cerberus_Capital_Management

Cerberus Capital Management, L.P. is one of the largest private equity investment firms in the United States. The firm is based in New York City, and run by 50-year-old financier Steve Feinberg. Former U.S. Vice President Dan Quayle has been a prominent Cerberus spokesperson and runs one of its international units.

Cerberus Capital Management
Type   Limited Partnership
Industry   Private Equity
Founded   1992
Headquarters   New York City
Products   private equity funds
Total assets   $24 billion
Website   www.cerberuscapital.com

Pharmaceuticals - In December 2004, the company announced the acquisition of Bayer's plasma products business and renamed it Talecris Biotherapeutics. It purchased Talecris for $83m, and sold the bulk of its shares in October 2009, for a net gain of $1.8bn.[19] [NET GAIN of $1.8B!!!! Are you kidding me? This company is a threat to National Security!]

[NWOSCUM]

Not sure if this is related

http://www.sunshinestatenews.com/story/rick-scott-hails-colt-plant-planned-osceola-county

[Kilika]

This company smells like a front. But for who?

I'd venture to say it's the same people that Eric Prince works for. Same model. Hide behind private enterprise.

What would people do if the new owners decided that the gun business they bought is a bust and shut it down and close the doors "for financial reasons"? These investment types do it all the time, buy a company and spruce it and flip it, or tear it apart and sell it off.

So if you have a situation where "fed friendly" private entities are buying up various strategic businesses, that's a pattern. It stands to reason those owners will go with what the feds want, and that can be a big problem.

[global_fiefdom]

http://www.yankeegunnuts.com/





  Lool

[decemberfellow]

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.

Read more: http://nation.foxnews.com/guns/2011/12/05/mystery-company-buying-us-gun-manufacturers#ixzz1fi8yI2zi

 Freedom Group:

What is Freedom Group?

We are the world's leading innovator, designer, manufacturer and marketer of firearms, ammunition and related products for the hunting, shooting sports, law enforcement and military markets. As one of the largest manufacturers in the world of firearms and ammunition, we have some of the most globally recognized brands including Remington®, Bushmaster® Firearms, DPMS/Panther Arms™, Marlin®, H&R®, The Parker Gun™, EOTAC™, Mountain Khakis®, Advanced Armament Corp. ®, Dakota Arms® and Barnes® Bullets.
For more information download the Freedom Group Brochure.
Mission Statement

Freedom Group develops, manufactures and markets innovative firearms, ammunition and related products of the highest quality for demanding applications in the commercial, law enforcement and defense markets around the world. Our value-added solutions result from a thorough understanding of our customers' needs and aspirations and our relentless pursuit of innovation, quality and continuous improvement in every aspect of our business.
Vision Statement

Freedom Group is the premier U.S. provider of firearms, ammunition and related products to a diverse set of global customers and markets. We are dedicated to design excellence, product innovation, speed to market, outstanding customer service and superior quality. We always treat our customers, employees, business partners, environment, community and nation with the highest levels of integrity.
Value Statement

All aspects of our business are conducted with the highest levels of integrity and are focused on creating sustainable value for all of our stakeholders.
Customers
Our success is measured by providing our customers with the best solutions and superior quality, while employing the highest ethical standards.    Employees
We provide a collaborative, safe and secure environment, free of harassment. We value diversity and attract and retain the best employees, while fostering open and candid communication without fear of reprisal.    Community
We support and encourage community outreach and provide sustainable employment. Safety, health and environmental protection take priority over economic consideration.    Suppliers
We partner with our suppliers and conduct ourselves professionally and ethically.    Society
We produce environmentally sound products and only act within the law. We will not compromise our moral or ethical principles.

[decemberfellow]

Recently (4Q 2011) several members have forwarded an e-mail to ISRA that they received regarding gun control financiers, specifically George Soros, attempting to gain control of the majority of the firearms and ammunition industry in the US with the ultimate result to shutting them all down. The emails typically go something like this . . .

    For the last several years a company called The Freedom Group has been buying up gun and ammunition manufacturers. Some of the companies are Bushmaster, Marlin, Remington, DPMS, Dakota Arms and H&R.

    Some people worry that this Freedom Group is going to control most of the firearms companies in the United States.

    If you control the manufacturers you can decide to stop selling to civilians. What a perfect way to control guns.

    Now if you do some digging you will see that The Freedom Group is owned by a company called Cerberus Capital Management. Guess who controls Cerberus??? GEORGE SOROS !!!!!!!!! One of the most evil men on this planet who wants to restrict or ban all civilian guns.

    Please pass this on to all your freedom loving friends. This needs to come out.

    Why have we not heard about this in the “mainstream” media? I would think this would be BIG news.

Here are the facts:

    * Freedom Group owns a large number of firearm and ammo manufacturers. This is TRUE.
    * Freedom Group is owned by Cerberus. This is also TRUE.
    * Soros owns Cerberus. FALSE or at least highly improbable and unable to be confirmed.

This ‘warning’ started as e-mail forwards in late 2009/early 2010 when Freedom Group attempted to go public with stock and they bought up Barnes Bullets.

Cerberus was started and is owned by Stephen Feinberg. No reputable sources we have found (ie Wall Street Journal, Businessweek, etc. ) list Soros in any way connected to Cerberus. Most locations for this are online message boards or blogs that copy/paste the same or similar ‘warnings’ like the one above.




If we keep digging I bet we find SOROS



http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2011/10/robert-farago/george-soros-doesnt-own-the-freedom-group/

[TahoeBlue]

Look at the people involved:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Feinberg

After graduating from college, Feinberg worked as a trader at Drexel Burnham and Gruntal & Co.

In 1992 Feinberg teamed up with William L. Richter to found Cerberus Capital Management with just $10 million under management. Feinberg has been at the helm of the firm since its founding. Later alliances with J. Ezra Merkin were important for raising capital. Subsequent hirings of former politicians and lobbyists John Snow, Dan Quayle and others have served as door-openers in Washington and abroad.

The 2007 Cerberus purchase of Chrysler Corp. from Germany's Daimler Benz became a major and, as of 2009, unsuccessful initiative by Feinberg into a higher-profile investment. Feinberg and others at the firm explicitly presented the investment as patriotic, but many critics ultimately questioned that characterization, especially after Chrysler had to seek and take federal aid. (Chrysler now, with federal help, has been sold to Fiat.) As of 2009, Cerberus was facing major calls from its investors for redemptions, and had written down its investment in Chrysler to 19 cents on the dollar. Had there not been the federal bailout, the investment could have been worth nothing

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drexel_Burnham_Lambert
Drexel Burnham Lambert was a major Wall Street investment banking firm, which first rose to prominence and then was forced into bankruptcy in February 1990 by its involvement in illegal activities in the junk bond market, driven by Drexel employee Michael Milken. At its height, it was the fifth-largest investment bank in the United States

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_W._Snow
John_W._Snow

From 1994 through 1996, he was Chairman of the Business Roundtable, a business policy group of 250 chief executive officers of the nation's largest companies, and played a major role in supporting passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._Ezra_Merkin
Jacob Ezra Merkin (born 1954) is a former money manager and financier. He was a close business associate of Bernard Madoff, and is alleged to have played a significant part in the Madoff fraud.

He served as the Non-executive Chairman of GMAC until his resignation on January 9, 2009, at the insistence of the U.S. government.[1]

He was the general partner of Gabriel Capital LP, a $5 billion group of hedge funds which was dissolved in 2008 after heavy losses in the Madoff fraud.
...
In 1988, he started Gabriel Capital to raise capital, and funnel it to managers in exchange for a fee. By 1992, Merkin was raising money and co-managing securities with and for Stephen A. Feinberg, a manager whose private-equity firm Cerberus Capital Management, later bought controlling shares in Chrysler (80%) and GMAC (51%, at a cost of $ 6.4 billion),[8] the financing arm of General Motors.[9] Merkin invested his funds into Cerberus and its portfolio companies. His Gabriel fund invested $79 million in Chrysler, $66 million in GMAC, and $67 million in Cerberus partnerships, according to year-end statements.[10]

On March 30, 2009, it was announced that Cerberus would lose its controlling stake in Chrysler. [11]

In 2005, Cerberus and Gabriel bought a 9.9% combined interest in Bank Leumi, but in April 2009, decided to sell in order to boost liquidity due to their substantial financial losses in 2008.[12]

Merkin manages Ascot Partners LP, a hedge fund which was valued at $1.8 billion prior to the collapse of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC.[13]

GMAC
In 2006, Cerberus appointed Merkin as nonexecutive Chairman.[14]

In a statement, on December 10, 2008, GMAC said, "GMAC LLC, the auto and home lender seeking federal aid, hasn’t obtained enough capital to become a bank holding company and may abandon the effort, casting new doubt on the firm’s ability to survive. A $38 billion debt exchange by GMAC and its Residential Capital LLC mortgage unit to reduce the company's outstanding debt and raise capital hasn’t attracted enough participation."

 This was in part because Cerberus had raised the credit requirements for car loans so high, virtually eliminating leasing, that they have been responsible for a sizable chunk of lost sales at GM due to customers' inability to secure financing, in order to pressure GM into selling or trading their remaining stake in GMAC. [15]

GM stands to write-off over a billion dollars in lost residuals– which they paid up front to GMAC. GMAC's exposure to the gap in residual values is around $3.5 billion.[16]

As of October 15, 2008, GMAC had $173 billion of debt against $140 billion of income-producing assets (loans and leases), some which are almost worthless, in addition to GMAC Bank’s $17 billion in deposits (a liability). Even if GMAC liquidated the loans and leases, it couldn’t pay back all of its debt.[17]

In January 2009, Merkin resigned from his chairmanship as a condition of the U.S. government. [1] Five days earlier, the Federal Reserve granted GMAC bank holding company status, so it could obtain access to bailout money.[18]

On December 29, 2008, the U.S. Treasury gave GMAC $5 billion from its $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP).

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_40/b3953110.htm
...
Cerberus has been shopping up a storm for a year now, seemingly coming out of nowhere to build a corporate empire. With more than $16 billion of investors' assets on its books -- almost double what it had in 2003 -- it has bought 28 companies and snapped up stakes of at least 15% in an additional 15 over the past decade.

According to BusinessWeek estimates, Cerberus controls companies that ring up at least a combined $30 billion in annual sales, more than McDonald's, 3M (AXP ), Coca-Cola (KO ), or Cisco Systems (CSCO ). With more than 106,000 employees, Cerberus companies have a bigger payroll than Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM ).

Its trophies include 226 Burger King restaurants, the National and Alamo car-rental chains, building-products maker Formica Corp., and the old Warner Hollywood Studios, where blockbusters such as Basic Instinct were made. Its companies connect BlackBerrys, provide medical therapy, and set up military-base camps in Iraq.
...
PICKUP TRUCKS AND BUD
The mind-boggling rise of Cerberus -- from a fringe vulture fund started with a grubstake of about $10 million in 1992 to a Wall Street powerhouse -- has been driven by its enigmatic boss, Stephen A. Feinberg, 45. Like other hedge-fund managers and buyout kings, Feinberg has a penchant for secrecy, although his is more developed than most.

While co-founder William L. Richter deals with investors, and lieutenants such as former Vice-President Dan Quayle jet around the globe to seal deals, the mustached Feinberg keeps very much to himself in a nondescript office on the 22nd floor of a high-rise on Manhattan's Park Avenue. The walls are bare save for a lone photograph of a motorbike that is propped up against his window; a black kid-size motorbike with training wheels -- a gift from an outside adviser -- is parked next to his desk.
...
Cerberus doesn't even have a Web site -- and it doesn't reveal exactly which companies it owns. Feinberg declined to be interviewed or photographed for this story, but dozens of current and former Cerberus executives, investors, and associates spoke with BusinessWeek, many not for attribution.
...
Feinberg majored in politics, producing a senior thesis arguing that drugs and prostitution should be legalized.

For the paper, he not only delved into theories about the appropriate role of government but also spent a summer interviewing cops, hookers, and pimps in New York City. Feinberg took the position to impress a professor who he perceived as liberal after receiving a bad grade arguing the opposite view in a paper the previous year, says a person close to him.

Today Feinberg contributes to Republican causes. He and his wife Gisela sent $114,000 in the 2003-2004 election cycle to committees working to elect Republicans to Congress.

[InsideJob]

...
Cerberus doesn't even have a Web site -- and it doesn't reveal exactly which companies it owns. Feinberg declined to be interviewed or photographed for this story, but dozens of current and former Cerberus executives, investors, and associates spoke with BusinessWeek, many not for attribution.
...

Don't call us - we'll call you

[RabidSheep]

Don't call us - we'll call you

www.cerberuscapital.com/

[RabidSheep]

Selected Equity Investments  ( this is not all their investments)

http://www.cerberuscapital.com/Equity.aspx

AerCap Aviation Solutions    
DynCorp International    
North American Bus Industries
Albertson's LLC    
Four Points Media    
Scottish Re Group Ltd.
Aozora Bank Ltd.    
GeoEye    
Showa Jisho Co. Ltd.
ATC Group Services, Inc.
GSW Immobilien AG    
Spyglass Entertainment
BAWAG P.S.K.    
Guilford Performance Textiles    
Steward Health Care System
Blue Bird    
IAP Worldwide Services    
Strategic Restaurants Acquisition Group
BlueLinx Corporation    
Kokusai Kogyo KK    
Torex Retail Holdings Limited
CML International Holdings LLC    
LNR Property Corporation    
Tower International
CTA Acoustics, Inc.    
NewPage Corporation    

[JT Coyoté]

I'm very surprised they have not started buying up the ammunition companies as well. Which makes me wonder if I should go ahead and invest in reloading equipment and supplies.

Well, if you aren't close to someone who does reload, you should.

We used to reload on weekends, a bunch of guys 'n' gals that shoot a lot... brass, primers, lead, and powder are gold.

Moved to Summit County 12 years ago and that all changed... I can still load for 77 different cartridges, Pistol, Rifle, shotgun, and obsolete, this includes casting all the bullets and shot if push comes to shove...

Oldyoti

"The NRA, behind the scenes, has
brokered, compromised, and then
endorsed every major anti Second
Amendment federal law passed for
the last 30 years..." ~C.E. Lovell,
NRA Board Member 1980-93

[Nailer]

freedom group...


http://freedom-group.com/


What is Freedom Group?

We are the world's leading innovator, designer, manufacturer and marketer of firearms, ammunition and related products for the hunting, shooting sports, law enforcement and military markets. As one of the largest manufacturers in the world of firearms and ammunition, we have some of the most globally recognized brands including Remington®, Bushmaster® Firearms, DPMS/Panther Arms™, Marlin®, H&R®, The Parker Gun™, EOTAC™, Mountain Khakis®, Advanced Armament Corp. ®, Dakota Arms® and Barnes® Bullets.
 For more information download the Freedom Group Brochure.

Mission Statement

Freedom Group develops, manufactures and markets innovative firearms, ammunition and related products of the highest quality for demanding applications in the commercial, law enforcement and defense markets around the world. Our value-added solutions result from a thorough understanding of our customers' needs and aspirations and our relentless pursuit of innovation, quality and continuous improvement in every aspect of our business.

Q2 2011 report

http://freedom-group.com/FGI-2011-Q2.pdf

[larsonstdoc]

  I'm thinking that there are Zombie banks behind this.


  And as decemberfellow said, Soros is probably in this also.

[stymo1]

Wall Street Buys Up Guns

http://www.infowars.com/wall-street-buys-up-guns/

The Daily Bell
Thursday, December 8, 2011

Mystery company buying up U.S. gun manufacturers … Some gun enthusiasts have claimed that the power behind the company is actually George Soros, the hedge-fund billionaire and liberal activist. Soros, these people have warned, is buying U.S. gun companies so he can dismantle the industry, Second Amendment be damned. The chatter grew so loud that the National Rifle Association issued a statement in October denying the rumors.

“NRA has had contact with officials from Cerberus and Freedom Group for some time,” the NRA assured its members. “The owners and investors involved are strong supporters of the Second Amendment and are avid hunters and shooters.” Soros isn’t behind the Freedom Group, but, ultimately, another financier is: Stephen Feinberg, the chief executive of Cerberus. Cerberus is part of one of the signature Wall Street businesses of the past decade: private equity. – New York Times
Dominant Social Theme: It’s just business, nothing more to it.

Free-Market Analysis: Another subdominant social theme? It’s always the same. The Anglosphere power elite is on its way to buying up all the oil, water and farmland in the world (with or without China), or so it seems, and we are told it is the evolution of the free-market economy. Sure …

And now … guns. Not George Soros, mind you. The NRA – an elitist, Trojan Horse of an organization itself – has assured us that the folks behind the purchases are “strong supporters of the Second Amendment.” The NRA added, “We have a mighty fine bridge connecting Manhattan to Brooklyn that we’d like to sell you.”

Oh, sorry – we just made up that last part. Anyway, this is how the power elite likes to work, it seems to us. Every move to support global governance is likely cloaked and hidden. There are always justifications. If it is not a war, or a “human tragedy” that necessitates further centralization, then it is “market forces” at work. But in fact, it is always directed history …

Is it possible that Feinberg is doing the bidding of a larger and more powerful elite? We are well aware that one of the goals of the powers-that-be is to rid the US of guns. It is a major stumbling block to declaring one-world government, or so it is said by directed history observers. Here is something about Feinberg, via Wikipedia:

Stephen Feinberg was born in the Bronx, NY. At eight his family moved to Spring Valley, New York, a relatively poor suburb of New York City. His father was a steel salesman. He attended Princeton University in New Jersey, graduating with a degree in politics in 1982. While there, he captained the tennis team and joined the Reserve Officer Training Corps.

After graduating from college, Feinberg worked as a trader at Drexel Burnham and Gruntal & Co. In 1992 Feinberg teamed up with William L. Richter to found Cerberus Capital Management with just $10 million under management. Feinberg has been at the helm of the firm since its founding. Later alliances with J. Ezra Merkin were important for raising capital.

Subsequent hirings of former politicians and lobbyists John Snow, Dan Quayle and others have served as door-openers in Washington and abroad. The 2007 Cerberus purchase of Chrysler Corp. from Germany’s Daimler Benz became a major and, as of 2009, unsuccessful initiative by Feinberg into a higher-profile investment. Feinberg and others at the firm explicitly presented the investment as patriotic, but many critics ultimately questioned that characterization, especially after Chrysler had to seek and take federal aid. Chrysler now, with federal help, has been sold to Fiat.

As of 2009, Cerberus was facing major calls from its investors for redemptions, and had written down its investment in Chrysler to 19 cents on the dollar. Had there not been the federal bailout, the investment could have been worth nothing.
Well, it’s nice to know that Feinberg has friends in the federal government. Suspicious people (even more paranoid than ourselves) might suggest a quid pro quo: Feinberg gets a bailout and in return, the US gun manufacturing industry gets a roll-up. Well, on second thought, no … That’s just too darn paranoid!

Nonetheless, there is a roll-up. And the activity seems frenetic. Cerberus-controlled Freedom Group, Feinberg’s vehicle, has purchased one high profile gun manufacturer after another. The article tells us that it began with Maine-based Bushmaster before the biggest prize of all fell into its lap, Remington.

After pocketing Remington, the “Freedom Group” targeted Marlin Firearms, then DPMS Firearms, “a maker of semiautomatic, military-style rifles, as well as manufacturers of ammunition and tactical clothing.”
But there was more to come: Harrington & Richardson and L.C. Smith, and Dakota Arms – makers of rifles and something called Barnes Bullets. And more! The article mentions S&K Industries, which supplies wood and laminate for gun stocks, as well as the Advanced Armament Corp., which makes silencers.

This is a pretty hefty swath, no? The Freedom Group itself seems to think so. According to the Times article excerpted above, the Freedom Group said in a filing last year with the Securities and Exchange Commission, “We believe our scale and product breadth are unmatched within the industry.”

We are sure this is just the market at work … aren’t we? Or will there come a day in the not too distant future when the NRA announces that in order to buy a rifle you will need to be formally licensed and fingerprinted. You will need an ID or a microchip implant.
And then, perhaps, the NRA will announce that the Freedom Group, America’s number one gun owner, is firmly behind the measure! “The industry supports it,” we shall be told. “And so should you!”

Conclusion: “We fight for the independence of recreational gun owners and hunters everywhere,” the press release might continue. “And that’s why we stand side-by-side with the NRA in welcoming this most important initiative. Call your Congressperson today!” Mr. Freidman, the wire reports inform us, could not be reached for comment …

[One Revelator]

This topic was brought up a year and a half ago and nobody seemed to care about it then. I wonder why now?

Who Owns Bushmaster, Remington, Marlin, and Dyncorp?
http://forum.prisonplanet.com/index.php?topic=169451.0

[MonkeyPuppet]

Well, if you aren't close to someone who does reload, you should.

We used to reload on weekends, a bunch of guys 'n' gals that shoot a lot... brass, primers, lead, and powder are gold.

Moved to Summit County 12 years ago and that all changed... I can still load for 77 different cartridges, Pistol, Rifle, shotgun, and obsolete, this includes casting all the bullets and shot if push comes to shove...

Oldyoti

"The NRA, behind the scenes, has
brokered, compromised, and then
endorsed every major anti Second
Amendment federal law passed for
the last 30 years..." ~C.E. Lovell,
NRA Board Member 1980-93

Somehow I feel that it would be quite prudent to develop my land and build you a house on it before SHTF/WROL... invaluable asset much?   It's gonna take a good while, but expect an invitation at some point.

[Pleasured]

Israel is taking over everything they haven't  already, which isn't much.

[InsideJob]

This topic was brought up a year and a half ago and nobody seemed to care about it then. I wonder why now?

Who Owns Bushmaster, Remington, Marlin, and Dyncorp?
http://forum.prisonplanet.com/index.php?topic=169451.0

Better headline?

[Catalina]

Here's a good reason why they are trying to corner the market. They're scared of an armed public and they should be!

As Black Friday sales numbers continue to roll in from last week, a new report is showing that Americans are spending a large amount of money this year on disaster preparedness, and in particular, on guns.  Rather than seeking discounts solely on Christmas gifts and low-quality electronics, an FBI search on December 1st showed that background checks on Black Friday for gun purchases soared as people focussed their shopping choices on the growing economic crisis.

    Gun dealers flooded the FBI with background check requests for prospective buyers last Friday, smashing the single-day, all-time high by 32%, according to bureau records.

    Deputy Assistant FBI Director Jerry Pender said the checks, required by federal law, surged to 129,166 during the day, far surpassing the previous high of 97,848 on Black Friday of 2008.

    The actual number of firearms sold last Friday is likely higher because multiple firearms can be included in a transaction by a single buyer. And the FBI does not track actual gun sales. – USA Today


http://www.examiner.com/finance-examiner-in-national/disaster-preparedness-leads-the-way-holiday-shopping-this-christmas-season

[TahoeBlue]

bump  - Cerberus - Pump and Dump - arms investment....

http://www.freep.com/article/20121219/BUSINESS07/312190032/Cerberus-Capital-says-it-will-sell-largest-U-S-gunmaker
Cerberus Capital says it will sell largest U.S. gunmaker
December 19, 2012  

Cerberus Capital Management, the New York-based investment firm that owns the largest U.S. gunmaker, will sell the company, acting four days after one of its rifles was used in the Connecticut school shootings that left 26 people dead, including 20 six- and seven-year-olds.

Cerberus, which managed Chrysler from 2007 until its government-backed bankruptcy in 2009, said it will seek to sell Freedom Group just hours after California Treasurer Bill Lockyer said he'll propose that the state's public pension funds divest investments in firearm manufacturers that make guns prohibited under state law. The firm's announcement followed a day in which the White House reiterated President Barack Obama's support for a new ban on assault weapons and lawmakers called for stricter gun-control laws.
...
In 2006, Cerberus bought the maker of the Bushmaster semi-automatic rifle, the weapon authorities say Adam Lanza used for his Friday rampage at Sandy Hook elementary school in Newtown, Conn., before killing himself. The father of Cerberus CEO Stephen Feinberg lives in Liberty at Newtown, a community for senior citizens about 6 miles from the school.

...
Cerberus expanded its firearms holdings through acquisitions, including the purchase of Remington Arms in 2007, and named the business Freedom Group.

The company is the nation's biggest manufacturer of guns and ammunition, with nine plants and 3,100 employees. Shares of Smith & Wesson and Sturm Ruger, which make similar military-style weapons, fell for a third day in New York trading as investors shunned firearms makers. Smith & Wesson slumped 10% to close at $7.79.

[One Revelator]

It's a bad sign alright.

Freedom Group includes:

    Remington
    Bushmaster
    Marlin
    H&R 1871
    Dakota Arms
    Tapco
    DPMS/Panther
    Parker
    Barnes Bullets
    Advanced Armaments (AAC)
    Para USA
    Tapco

[TahoeBlue]

http://www.prisonplanet.com/new-york-gov-gun-confiscation-and-forced-buy-back-an-option.html
New York Gov: Gun Confiscation and Forced Buy-back an OptionKurt Nimmo
 Prisonplanet.com
 December 21, 2012

New York governor Andrew Cuomo says the state of New York is serious about gun confiscation. The Democrat and former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development told an Albany radio station he plans to propose a package of draconian legislation during his State of the State address next month
...
Cuomo indicated the state will likely force some kind of permit process on owners of semi-automatic “assault weapons.” In addition to generating revenue and expanding the size and reach of government, the effort will allow the state to confiscate the weapons of citizens who do not comply.
 
“Confiscation could be an option. Mandatory sale to the state could be an option. Permitting could be an option — keep your gun but permit it,” the governor said.