Celebrating its 500th year in 2026, Beretta may be looking for control of Ruger as a birthday present to itself, sparking an angry response from the American gun company.
Beretta Holding, a private company, has denied it is making a takeover bid, but has acquired a 10% stake in Strum Ruger & Co, a public company, and is trying to assert control over the board.
The Italian conglomerate publicly criticised Ruger’s financial performance, saying poor results “underscore a clear and growing disconnect between management’s rhetoric and actual performance – a disconnect that cannot be explained away as cyclical or temporary headwinds”.
Beretta laid the blame squarely at the feet of the nine-member board of directors and has nominated “four highly qualified, independent director candidates” to stand for election at Ruger’s 2026 AGM.
Beretta claims those people will bring “governance experience, capital allocation discipline and industry expertise that we believe is necessary to strengthen oversight in the boardroom and help put Ruger back on a path toward sustainable shareholder value”.
“Ruger employees, customers and shareholders deserve better accountability and a strategic reset,” Beretta stated.
Ruger has taken all this as a thinly veiled, hostile bid for control and responded by issuing a temporary shareholder rights plan, a strategy intended to offer benefits to shareholders other than Beretta. It would effectively water down Beretta’s power.
Ruger countered criticism of its management by pointing to recent changes to the board.
It also said Beretta was aiming to gain 25% of Ruger’s shares, was pushing for discounted shares and wanted disproportionate power on the board.
Ruger has not found its feet since the slump of the Covid pandemic and its share price has dropped more than 40% in the past five years.
Beretta, on the other, made almost $A2.5 billion in 2024 and has been acquiring other companies over a number of years, including US gunmaker Stoeger.
In the past few days, both Ruger and Beretta have engaged in a war of words, accusing each other of misrepresentation and not being collaborative; both have attempted to claim the moral high ground.
Beretta has launched a public campaign, Reload Ruger, outlining its position and seeking confidential feedback about Ruger.
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