Did you see where Disney bought Lucasfilm this week? They’ll be producing a new Star Wars Episode VII now, too. We can only hope that the $4 billion (that’s billion with a ‘b’) paid to ol’ George will keep him so busy diving into his coinage a la Scrooge McDuck that the new flick will spare the movie-going public another Jar Jar Binks-like fiasco. Speculation is George cashed out before the end of the year to avoid higher capital gains taxes that kick in January 1. And maybe that’s what’s behind TAPCO’s decision to go over to the Freedom Group dark side now, too. Nick seemed to think their budget-priced AR furniture is pretty OK. But things may change in Kennesaw once TAPCO’s been fully pulled into the FG mother ship by that tractor beam of cash. Careful boys, that’s no moon . . . Press release after the jump.

Madison, NC – Remington Arms Company, LLC (Remington), part of the Freedom Group Family of Companies, announced today it has acquired The American Parts Company Inc. (TAPCO).

TAPCO is a designer and marketer of American-made aftermarket accessories and replacement parts for handguns, rifles, shotguns, modern sporting rifles and other tactical firearms.  All aspects of the product development cycle are managed from within the company. State of the art computer aided design, rapid prototyping and extensive testing have allowed TAPCO to bring innovative and dependable products to the shooting marketplace.

“TAPCO has been in business for more than 25 years and has established market strength through its high quality U.S.-made products,” said George Kollitides, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Freedom Group.  “This acquisition will enhance our positioning in the accessories market and allow us to further our research and development capabilities.”

“With the acquisition of TAPCO, Remington continues to demonstrate its commitment to the firearm parts and accessories business,” said Scott Blackwell, President of Freedom Group. “TAPCO is well-known as a leader in delivering innovative and dependable products to the shooting marketplace. We are excited about the breadth of the products they bring to our portfolio, and we look forward to utilizing our resources to ensure our consumers and OEM partners benefit from this important acquisition.  We welcome TAPCO and its employees into our family of companies.”

TAPCO will continue day-to-day operations at its Kennesaw, Georgia, facility.

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19 COMMENTS

  1. “We can only hope that the $4 billion (with a ‘b’) paid to ol’ George will keep him so busy diving into his coinage a la Scrooge McDuck that the new flick will spare the movie-going public another Jar Jar Binks-like fiasco.”

    I understand you’re being humorous, but I would just like to point out that Lucas is donating most of the Star Wars money to charity: http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2012/11/02/george-lucas-will-donate-billions-from-disney-deal-most-generous-celebrity/

    In my mind, that makes up for Jar-Jar and then some!

    • I tentatively disagree Plat, but the cash first goes to Lucas’ foundation. I suspect this “Foundation” thing might have something to do with tax avoidance. But maybe I’m just cynical.

  2. Lucas’ latest film, RED TAILS, was a pretty good, if nostalgic take on WW2 aviation action amd I respect Lucas for Episodes 3-5… as I try to block out memories of Episode 1. The animated Clone Wars series has made Star Wars a big hit with this generation of kids, especially elementary school age boys, so you can bet Disney’s marketing machines has been salivating over their new cash cow. Is it too much to hope that Episodes 6-9 can be made the right way?

    But I digress… now that Remington owns TAPCO, that does mean TAPCO parts are going to now double, triple, and quadruple in price? Meh…

    • The monstrously misnamed “Freedom Group” has both Remington and TAPCO now, so it’s more likely the price will stay the same while quality of their merchandise goes down by double, triple, and quadruple factors.

      On the other hand, this is mass-market cheap AR furniture, so unlike poor old Marlin (and Remington to a lesser extent) it ought to fit their downsize, outsource, automate, and mass-produce mindset just fine.

  4. I wouldn’t be surprised if they just got out of the business in case Obama gets reelected. If he tries to pass an AWB their business will basically tank considering all the do is sell things that might end up being illegal like collapsible buttstocks and pistol grips. It’s a “Get out while the getting’s good” type of deal. Worse case scenario, Obama doesn’t get reelected and no AWB gets passed, they could just restart another business to sell their goods with all the cash they just got.

    • I just hate to point this out. But Obama’s comments on AWB have been weak, and of no consequence.

      However, we do have a candidate who did pass a permanent AWB. What is his name??? Oh yeah, Mitt “FlipFlop” Romney. Ask the Mass. gunners how they like it.

      • Don’t bother. I’ve seen people point this out all over the place, but people who think that a D after someone’s name means they are the Devil don’t care about the facts.

        I don’t know if you’re a true believer or not, Angel, just commenting on something I’ve noticed… a lot.

  6. Get ready for Tapco to lose all of it’s good employees that made the company a joy to work with, and get ready for QC to drop below what it already was.

    • Good employees who were nice to work with… who never made a single product of quality or consequence to anyone aside from the readers of Shotgun News.

      • The G2 trigger, Fusion hand guard and Saw grip are alright. Their stock systems suck, and their magazines suck really bad, but I’ve used some decent stuff from Tapco in the past, and their CS reps were really nice folks.

    • Yes, it’s called Private Equity.

      Remember, the guy everyone on here is trying to turn into President was a PE king back in the day. When all you know is strip it and flip it, every country looks like a fat wad to be plundered.

      But he currently is flip-flopped onto our side with the gun rights, so we better vote for him!

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