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I know I posted about this before. However, given the difficulty in finding old threads at the moment and the fact that even The Wall Street Journal has now picked up on it, I thought it might be interesting to look at it again.
Foreign Purchase of U.S. Ammo Maker Sparks National-Security Battle
Czech arms maker CSG chief eyes place on global stage
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In October 2023, the Czechoslovak Group (CSG), of Prague, Czech Republic, entered into a definitive agreement to buy the ammunition brands of Vista Outdoor Inc. for $1.9 billion. Vista is an outdoor sports company that specializes in outdoor products, i.e., camp equipment, and shooting sports, i.e., ammunition.
The deal would give CSG control 70% of the manufacturing capacity for ammunition primersJ.D. Vance and John Kennedy, Representatives Mike Waltz and Clay Higgins, and the National Sheriffs Association. (CSG currently has a 70% stake in Italian munition maker Fiocchi Munizioni which is widely available in the U.S.)...
In response to the legislators, Michal StrnadDavid Stepansurveillance radarsarms embargo on Azerbaijan, according to Forbes
The deal would give CSG control 70% of the manufacturing capacity for ammunition primersJ.D. Vance and John Kennedy, Representatives Mike Waltz and Clay Higgins, and the National Sheriffs Association. (CSG currently has a 70% stake in Italian munition maker Fiocchi Munizioni which is widely available in the U.S.)...
In response to the legislators, Michal StrnadDavid Stepansurveillance radarsarms embargo on Azerbaijan, according to Forbes
Czech arms maker CSG chief eyes place on global stage
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Michal Strnad, who a decade ago became head of CSG, a family defence business, is closing in on buying U.S. ammunitions maker Kinetic Group that will transform a company that started by buying tanks for scrap into a key player in the global arms market.
But first Strnad, the 31-year old Czech, owner and chairman of the Czechoslovak Group (CSG) -- a large supplier to Ukraine -- needs to fend off a rival offer for Kinetic parent Vista Outdoor to get control of around 20 percent of the West's small ammunitions market and nearly double its revenue from last year's 1.7 billion euros...
Strnad, whose net worth more than doubled last year to $4.4 billion according to Forbes, said his company's offer makes sense for a privately-held company like his not answerable to shareholders that has the financial wherewithal to utilise and expand capacity and withstand what he called "peaks and valleys" in the industry.
Taken together with the 2022 acquisition 70% of Italy's small-calibre ammunition maker Fiocchi Munizioni, the deal would make CSG the biggest player in that market in the world outside China and Russia, Strnad said...
"We have invested hundreds of millions of euros since the start of the war in capacity," Strnad said.
He said the company now had a backlog of artillery orders for six years and was investing further into new capacity at its plants in Slovakia, Spain and Serbia.
Strnad said CSG also planned to restart and idle gun powder and nitrocellulose production line at an Italian factory, in cooperation with the Italian government, to address what he called a huge bottleneck for European ammunition makers.
The company, which also makes howitzers, armoured vehicles or multiple rocket launchers sees promising markets Asia, the Middle East and Africa but also Ukraine where it has been exploring joint ventures with Ukrainian companies.
While the war makes it difficult to set up shop now, Strnad believes that the help and good will his company and the Czechs have received for supplying weapons and equipment to Ukraine can translate into an important foothold in the nation's future defence industry...
But first Strnad, the 31-year old Czech, owner and chairman of the Czechoslovak Group (CSG) -- a large supplier to Ukraine -- needs to fend off a rival offer for Kinetic parent Vista Outdoor to get control of around 20 percent of the West's small ammunitions market and nearly double its revenue from last year's 1.7 billion euros...
Strnad, whose net worth more than doubled last year to $4.4 billion according to Forbes, said his company's offer makes sense for a privately-held company like his not answerable to shareholders that has the financial wherewithal to utilise and expand capacity and withstand what he called "peaks and valleys" in the industry.
Taken together with the 2022 acquisition 70% of Italy's small-calibre ammunition maker Fiocchi Munizioni, the deal would make CSG the biggest player in that market in the world outside China and Russia, Strnad said...
"We have invested hundreds of millions of euros since the start of the war in capacity," Strnad said.
He said the company now had a backlog of artillery orders for six years and was investing further into new capacity at its plants in Slovakia, Spain and Serbia.
Strnad said CSG also planned to restart and idle gun powder and nitrocellulose production line at an Italian factory, in cooperation with the Italian government, to address what he called a huge bottleneck for European ammunition makers.
The company, which also makes howitzers, armoured vehicles or multiple rocket launchers sees promising markets Asia, the Middle East and Africa but also Ukraine where it has been exploring joint ventures with Ukrainian companies.
While the war makes it difficult to set up shop now, Strnad believes that the help and good will his company and the Czechs have received for supplying weapons and equipment to Ukraine can translate into an important foothold in the nation's future defence industry...
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