Beretta takes 25pc of Ruger as $108m tender offer is oversubscribed

Beretta Holding, the family-owned group behind the world’s oldest firearms manufacturer, has taken a 25 per cent stake in US rival Sturm, Ruger & Company after its cash tender offer was heavily oversubscribed.

The $44.80-per-share offer, for up to 2,400,184 Ruger shares worth about $108 million, expired at 11:59pm New York time on October 15. Beretta said on October 16 that shareholders had tendered 3,589,647 shares, with a further 2,652,256 submitted through guaranteed-delivery notices — about 2.6 times the number sought — implying a proration factor of roughly 38.45 per cent, subject to confirmation.

The deal follows a strategic cooperation agreement struck on May 4, under which Beretta — already identified as Ruger’s largest shareholder — could raise its holding to as much as 25 per cent. The pact included a three-year standstill on proxy contests and a commitment to vote with Ruger’s board, while Beretta withdrew its director nominations for Ruger’s 2026 annual meeting. Ruger’s board had accelerated the expiry of its shareholder rights plan to September 16 after regulatory conditions were satisfied.

Chairman Pietro Gussalli Beretta said a stake in a listed company would let the group “review whether there will be other opportunities, other deals in capital markets” — a rare opening to public markets for the centuries-old Italian group.

Sources: Bloomberg Law; The Financial