did you all know Sierra Bullets has sold out to a stock company in August

[JO JO]

I did not know this,
www.nasdaq.com/press-release/clarus-acquires-sierra-bullets-for-79-million-20170822-00496
I guess Sierra is now owned by stock holds hope they do not change much , but a new Sierra reloading manual would be nice

 

[Walkalong]

I would expect their competitors to leverage this. Hopefully Sierra as a company remains committed to the product.

 

[JO JO]

Hope so I shoot my share of their 69gr match kings

 

[Rule3]

Yes, received a e mail or NRA bulletin.

http://bulletin.accurateshooter.com/2017/08/sierra-bullets-being-acquired-by-clarus-corporation/

 

[.308 Norma]

Hopefully Sierra as a company remains committed to the product.

Yeah, I hope so too. Sierra's 30 caliber, 165gr. HPBT is my favorite mule deer and antelope bullet.

 

[homers]

and in a year or two from now posters will start claiming the quality has gone, whether true or not.

 

[joed]

I'll keep a watchful eye on their products. If they start dropping their less popular bullets that isn't a good sign. At present I have enough of their bullets to last my lifetime in what I shoot.

Been thinking of giving Hornady a try but they haven't won me over. They have done no development on .257 though they do have .224, 243 and .308 covered well.

I've also gone back and forth between Sierra and Nosler and Nosler has decent offerings.

 

[JO JO]

and in a year or two from now posters will start claiming the quality has gone, whether true or not.

I bet the prices will go up first

 

[dh1633pm]

Like everyone else, I hope quality remains the same. I need a steady supply of 168 SMK's to my rifles functioning. Why try something else when they just work.

 

[Riomouse911]

It is a rare, rare day when a capital company acquires a shooting sports company and things improve. Or to be honest, when they take over any established company, period. Once the bean counters, detached executives, and shareholders have a say in what goes into a product, quality is almost always sacrificed on the altar of profit.

Sadly, you can usually count the days before corners are cut and the end result is sub-par. Big money buyouts require quick returns, and few (if any) people in the new corporate structure remain who have any personal skin in the game as the brand worked to build its loyal following.

Freedom Group, aka Cerberus Capital Management, anyone? John M. Marlin and Eliphalet Remington are probably spinning like lathes in their graves with the " quality firearms " associated with their esteemed names since the acquisition. I certainly will never buy a new gun from either of these brands... and I am a die-hard 1100, 870, 1895 and 336 guy!

I like Sierra handgun bullets, and shoot them in .357, .44, and .45 calibers a lot. I have shot a few different rifle caliber hunting bullets of theirs as well.

I do hope they stay with their high quality products, and I will keep shooting them as long as they do. But if they fall off a cliff, I certainly won't be surprised.

 

[nettlle]

It's a holding company. Pretty typical American business these days. They may or may not keep the present management. If Sierra does well for the next five years the holding company will sell for a profit. If Sierra does poorly the next five years the holding company will sell for aloss. That's what holding companies do.

 

[rskent]

Interesting, I have been married to Match kings for a long time. Using the same bullet takes a major factor out of shooting a match. I hope they keep the same reliable quality.

Also, interesting, I just read that Federal recently switched from Sierra’s to Berger’s for their gold medal match. I was thinking about checking them out.

 

[Blue68f100]

I received a email on this several weeks ago. The email said that they were keeping all the current staff. Sierra has a high cash flow, low to no debit the reason for the acquisition. So the holding company now will be getting all the profits not the management as before.

 

[joed]

Interesting, I have been married to Match kings for a long time. Using the same bullet takes a major factor out of shooting a match. I hope they keep the same reliable quality.

Also, interesting, I just read that Federal recently switched from Sierra’s to Berger’s for their gold medal match. I was thinking about checking them out.

Outstanding! Good to hear that about Federal. I have a 2k supply of Sierra .308 168 gr MK's, I don't use them anymore as they are limited to 600 yds. I switched to Berger because those will go to 1000 yds. It's a case where Sierra has not upgraded their bullet profiles and stayed with something that was designed long ago. Now they are redesigning their MKs.

For hunting I've stayed with Sierra bullets.

 

[Nature Boy]

Sierra has been bought and sold a few times. No reason to assume the worst

 

[hdwhit]

JO JO wrote:
I guess Sierra is now owned by stock holds hope they do not change much

Actually, I hope they change quite a bit.

Sierra's product line - with the exception of a few notable additions - has been fairly stagnant for years (see comment in Post #14). They continue to make bullets for niche markets, but price them according to what they cost to produce, not according to that these specialty markets will pay to continue shooting.

It would be a sad day for all of us if the MBAs simply came in, looked at the ROI of each product line and then pared off the ones that didn't meet some artificial standard simply to plump up the bottom line before flipping the company. But, if the new owners invest in a modernization of the facilities and an update of the product line; leveraging Sierra's existing competencies in with like the Match King line, the result could be a renaissance for the company and a whole new day for shooters.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

I hate when this happens. It usually works out well for the shareholders but not the consumers.

 

[joed]

Actually, I hope they change quite a bit.

Sierra's product line - with the exception of a few notable additions - has been fairly stagnant for years (see comment in Post #14). They continue to make bullets for niche markets, but price them according to what they cost to produce, not according to that these specialty markets will pay to continue shooting.

It would be a sad day for all of us if the MBAs simply came in, looked at the ROI of each product line and then pared off the ones that didn't meet some artificial standard simply to plump up the bottom line before flipping the company. But, if the new owners invest in a modernization of the facilities and an update of the product line; leveraging Sierra's existing competencies in with like the Match King line, the result could be a renaissance for the company and a whole new day for shooters.

I'm with you on this. All the bullet companies could stand to do some new development. Hornady seems to have picked up on it. Sierra has started creating the Tipped MKs though I haven't tried any yet.

 

[sage5907]

All it will take for quality control to suffer is for the home office to send two or three MBA's to the production areas with all kinds of new ideas about how to improve efficiency. Let the people who know how to make bullets "make bullets" and keep the team decisions off the production floors. Quality control always suffers when supervisors don't know the business. I could use the current GameKing bullets the rest of my life without any change as long as they maintain their current quality control.

 

[Nature Boy]

Let me see if I can lend some perspective:

In August of 2017, Clarus Corporation (NASDAQ:CLAR), a diversified holding company which seeks opportunities to acquire and grow businesses that can generate attractive shareholder returns, has completed the acquisition of Sierra Bullets, L.L.C. for $79 million

For the unaudited 12 months ended June 30, 2017, Sierra's total revenues were approximately $32 million with EBITDA of approximately $12.5 million, representing a purchase price multiple of approximately 6.3x EBITDA. Sierra has a strong cash flow profile, generating free cash flow conversion of approximately 95% with limited ongoing capex requirements.

Now, here's the important part:

Clarus expects to leverage its various strategic and financial resources to accelerate Sierra's growth. This includes investments to enhance marketing and digital capabilities, improve distribution, forge new customer accounts, and develop new products.

Sierra is led by a seasoned senior management team with decades of combined manufacturing and industry expertise that is dedicated to the long-term growth of the brand. All senior management are expected to remain with Sierra under Clarus' ownership.

So, it would seem Clarus, a holding company, acquired Sierra for its high profitability, low debt, huge cash generating capabilities and as a platform for growth. I will tell you this from experience, a 39% EBITDA is something you don't come in and jack with by telling them how to manufacture bullets. You do exactly what they state their strategy is: to grow the top line revenue and let that management team keep doing what they are doing

 

[Jeff H]

As long as they keep up the QC of the SMK line, I'll keep buying them, regardless of who owns them.