Smith & Wesson Buys Savage Arms
Smith & Wesson paid $160 million for Savage Arms, mostly in stock. The seller, JDH Capital, now holds 16.7 percent of the company and a board seat.
Smith & Wesson acquired Savage Arms for $160 million on Wednesday, October 21st. The transaction was mostly paid in stock: 8,993,968 new S&W shares plus about $42 million in cash.
The seller is JDH Capital, the Houston investment firm that has owned Savage since buying it out of Vista Outdoor in 2019. JDH isn’t walking away. With the new shares it owns 16.7 percent of Smith & Wesson, more than anyone else, and one of its managing directors, Michael Fertitta, joined the S&W board the same day.
Both sides said the usual things. Mark Smith, S&W’s CEO, called the purchase “a transformative step for Smith & Wesson” and “an important milestone in our strategy to be the undisputed market leader in the firearm industry.” Fertitta called S&W “a natural partner for Savage given the complementary strengths of the two companies.”
The numbers behind that are in the 8-K and the investor deck S&W filed with the SEC the same day. Savage did about $160 million in sales over the twelve months ending September 30, ships roughly half a million guns a year, and employs 508 people between its Westfield, Massachusetts headquarters and its plant in Lakefield, Ontario. S&W says the price works out to about 7.9 times Savage’s adjusted EBITDA, and that the combined company does about $711 million a year, employs 2,227 people and now holds the number-two spot in bolt-action rifles, a category S&W had no real presence in before Wednesday.
One detail worth knowing about the stock: those 8,993,968 shares are 19.99 percent of what S&W had outstanding before the deal. Nasdaq requires a shareholder vote when a company issues 20 percent or more in an acquisition, so the deal came in just under the line, which is how it could be announced and closed on the same day. JDH can’t dump the shares, either. They’re locked up in thirds for 90, 240 and 360 days.
Savage Axis II .308 Win (22-inch barrel, 4-round)
The Axis II is the kind of rifle this deal is about: a .308 bolt gun with Savage's AccuTrigger that sells for under $500 and helped build the $160 million in annual sales Smith and Wesson just paid for. Rifles on shelves today were built under the old ownership.
If you’re wondering what this means for the 110 or the Axis in your safe, the honest answer is that nobody has said. The press release, the 8-K and the deck don’t mention the Westfield plant, the Lakefield plant, Savage’s management or any product line. The release does promise “operating efficiencies,” which is the phrase companies use before they go looking for costs to cut, but S&W puts the savings it has identified so far at $2.5 million a year, which is small next to $160 million in sales.
This is the third time Savage has changed hands since 2013, and the price has gone down each time. ATK paid $315 million for Savage’s parent company in 2013, Vista Outdoor sold it for $170 million in 2019, and JDH sold it for $160 million this week. S&W has been in the hunting business before, too. It bought Thompson/Center for $102 million in 2007 and announced in 2021 that it was divesting the brand to focus on its own name.
Next up is S&W’s second-quarter report in December, the first with Savage on the books, and within 60 days a registration statement that lets JDH sell its shares down the road. We’ll update when either one lands.
Own a Savage? Tell us in the comments what you’d hate to see change.
Shopping a bolt gun? Our deals page has today’s verified rifle prices.
Sources: Smith & Wesson press release, Oct. 21, 2026 (SEC Exhibit 99.1); Smith & Wesson Form 8-K, Oct. 21, 2026; investor presentation (Exhibit 99.2); Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635(a); Smith & Wesson Form 8-K, January 2007 (Thompson/Center); Smith & Wesson release, May 3, 2021; Smith & Wesson Q1 fiscal 2027 results; Twin Cities Business on the 2013 ATK purchase; Shooting Illustrated on the 2019 Vista Outdoor sale. Featured image: Savage Arms exhibit at the 1904 World’s Fair, Official Photographic Company, via the Digital Public Library of America (no known restrictions).
Justin Trump is the managing editor and owner of CAT Outdoors. The son of a Vietnam veteran, he’s a Certified Glock Armorer, an avid gun enthusiast and 2A advocate. He holds two firearm patents for the CAT M4 and Talon tools. When not managing CAT Outdoors, he enjoys spending time with his family and friends, rooting for Michigan sports teams, and serving his church.
