An early Colt LE6940 and Colt ink pen.
The original article in the Hartford Courant can be seen here:
By STEPHEN SINGER HARTFORD COURANT FEB 15, 2021 AT 12:49 PM
A Czech firearms manufacturer buying Colt Holding Co. is delaying plans for a new production site in Arkansas as it focuses on Connecticut, but will not soon increase the West Hartford workforce of 300, a top executive said Monday.
Jan Drahota, vice-chairman of the board of CZG–Česká zbrojovka Group, said at a news conference the company had been looking for another production base in the U.S. and settled on a site in Little Rock, Arkansas.
With the purchase of Colt for $220 million in cash and more than 1 million shares of the Czech company, valued at $20.3 million as of Monday, CZG will instead focus on Colt’s West Hartford site and Colt Canada Corp., the company’s Ontario subsidiary.
CZG is putting off the Little Rock project for three to five years, depending on market conditions.
“Colt is a big undertaking,” he said. “We decided to postpone construction in Little Rock to dedicate our resources in Connecticut and Canada.”
CZG has ruled out “dramatically increasing” the workforce, saying it’s too early to talk about hiring, Drahota said.
The deal is expected to close by June 30. CZG will evaluate the potential to increase Colt’s production capacity, using the supply chain and investments in machinery.
Lubomir Kovařík, chairman of the board of CZG, said Colt is an “iconic brand and benchmark” for the military, commercial and law enforcement markets.
“This acquisition fits perfectly in our strategy to become the leader in our industry,” he said.
The combined group would have revenue of more than $540 million and CZG is looking to generate revenue of $1.2 billion by 2025. The acquisition of Colt is “definitely an important step on the way,” Drahota said.
Colt, which manufactures guns for the military, police and civilian customers, has designed and made firearms in Connecticut since 1847.
CZG is acquiring significant production capacity in the United States and Canada and is looking to substantially expand its global customer base, the company said. It makes firearms for military and law enforcement, personal defense, hunting, sport shooting and other civilian uses.
The transaction is subject to regulatory approval but is anticipated to close in the second quarter ending June 30.
Stephen Singer can be reached at ssinger@courant.com.Read More
The post below was made by CZ today. Another step in the Colt acquisition process is complete. From what I understand, there still has to be a federal regulatory review and approval.
You can read more here:
https://www.americanrifleman.org/articles/2021/2/11/cz-group-to-acquire-colt
I have posted my review of the CR6920 Colt Carbine here at this link:
https://thecoltar15resource.com/cr6920/
Let me know if you have additional questions. Thank you.
I bought a small group of items from a former Colt sales rep. One of the more unique items was this Christmas card given to the sales staff in 2012.
Dimensions are 9 inches wide by 3-7/8 inches tall.
The left side inside of the card says:
“Happy Holidays! We sincerely thank you for your partnership and support of our rifle sales growth in 2012., and looking forward to continued success in 2013!”
David Ridley- VP of Domestic Sales & Marketing
Doug Campbell- Director of Domestic Sales
Another Gun Broker auction popped up this morning giving us a look at the ‘new’ CR6700A4 in more detail.
Starting price for this listing was $1199.00. A ‘Buy It Now’ option was available at $1299.00. The photos do not show any barrel data detail on top of the barrel, forward of the front sight post. Unfortunately, it shows that the 20″ rifle design comes with a ‘carbine’ marked lower receiver. This was very disappointing to me.
These additional photos show that there is not a ‘C’ or CAGE code on the upper receiver either.
Overall, the rifle looks like it is of very good quality with a very nice finish. Sadly, the ‘Carbine’ marked lower makes this a challenge to consider buying.
You can find a summary of CR6700A4 information here: https://thecoltar15resource.com/cr6700a4/
Here is an interesting image for you.
A member sent me photos of a gorgeous NIB early R6520 AR-15A2 Government Carbine that has the old ‘Carbine’ marked lower on it. So, I put together this side-by-side image of his old Colt AR6520 lower and my CR6920 lower.
I saw a Colt CR6700A4 for sale on Gun Broker this morning.
The MSRP according to Lipsey’s is $1099.00.
That leaves a prospective buyer of paying $300 over MSRP. I am going to wait and see if I can find one at MSRP or below. Obviously this probably isn’t likely in the current market but I am going to wait and see how additional sellers price their rifles.
It appears that Colt has rebranded the AR-15A4 to align with its new ‘CR’ series of rifles and carbines. The CR6700A4 becomes the 5th addition in the CR series following the CR6920, CR6920MPS-B, CR6920 EPR, and CR6940.
Here is an image showing the CR6700A4 on Lipsey’s website.
I imagine we will see them for sale soon.
News stories posted this morning here in the US and in the Czech Republic indicate there is a pending sale of Colt to CZ.
Prague / Uherský Brod (Uherskohradišťsko) – CZG Group – Česká zbrojovka Group SE (CZG) continues negotiations on the acquisition of a 100% stake in the American company Colt Holding Company LLC. The time limit for exclusivity to complete the negotiations has been extended to the end of January. This follows from the CZG regulatory announcement. Colt is the world’s leading manufacturer of firearms.
“Both parties have reached a general agreement on the basic commercial parameters of the transaction. Negotiations are now continuing with discussions on the technical parameters, regulatory approval requirements and contractual terms of the transaction,” said CZG.
According to them, the conclusion of the final documentation is expected by the end of January, subject to the completion of negotiations, transaction documentation and obtaining the necessary approvals of the competent authorities of both parties. “Once all the above conditions have been met, regulatory approval will be required before the transaction can be finally settled. However, despite significant progress in the negotiations, there is no guarantee that the transaction will be completed,” CZG warned.
According to Fio banka analyst Jan Raška, CZG’s original intention was to complete the negotiations in 2020, so everything is now being postponed by about one month. “In our opinion, a possible acquisition of Colt would increase Česká zbrojovka’s chances of gaining a foothold in the American segment of the armed forces,” Raška said. Colt is one of the world’s leading designers, developers and manufacturers of firearms. It has been supplying civilian and military customers and armed forces in the United States and other countries for more than 175 years.
The CZG Group – Česká zbrojovka Group SE reported record revenues of five billion crowns in the first three quarters of last year. This was a year-on-year increase of 10.2 percent, mainly due to a higher number of weapons sold due to high demand, especially in the United States. The holding recorded a year-on-year increase of 10.2 percent in the first nine months of 2020 also in the case of operating profit, which amounted to CZK 815.7 million. In 2019, the CZG holding reported sales of CZK 5.96 billion and a net profit of CZK 734 million.
The group manufactures small arms for the armed forces, personal defense, hunting, sport shooting and other civilian uses. It sells them under the CZ (Česká zbrojovka) brand, which has a history of more than eighty years, and also under the CZ-USA, Dan Wesson, Brno Rifles or 4M Systems brands. In addition to Česká zbrojovka, the group includes CZ-USA, 4M Systems and CZ Export Praha. The holding also holds a minority stake in Spuhr i Dalby, a Swedish manufacturer of optical mounting solutions for weapons. The group employs approximately 1,650 people in the Czech Republic, the USA and Germany.
Potential sale also reported here.
https://www.all4shooters.com/en/shooting/culture/cz-acquires-colt/
The Colt AR-15 Resource 