Beretta Holding closed a months-long push with a $44.80-per-share offer for Ruger that expired Thursday and was oversubscribed for as much as $108 million, according to Friday's disclosure. The company said the exact allocation of shares has yet to be finalized.
This is Beretta's first investment in a publicly traded peer. "Getting a stake in a listed company will allow us to review whether there will be other opportunities, other deals in capital markets," Pietro Gussalli Beretta said.
Talks that began over Beretta's influence at Ruger produced a May pact: a hard 25% ownership cap, the ability under certain conditions to propose up to two independent directors, and a three-year standstill restricting activism. Before that compromise, Beretta had aimed for roughly 30% and sought board seats, while Ruger cautioned about a creeping takeover risk.
"This investment didn't get off to an easy start," Gussalli Beretta said. "Now the relationship is clear, and we need to move forward." He added that Ruger remains independent, but the tie-up creates room to work together.
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Beretta says the companies mesh well: Ruger is entrenched in the US, and the two focus on different slices of the market. Their agreement lets them explore working together on production, procurement, logistics and sales, with the biggest near-term opportunities likely in commercial collaboration. They may also look at growing Ruger's non-US sales through Beretta's existing channels.
The stake also nudges Beretta closer to US capital markets and could set up other kinds of transactions. Still, Gussalli Beretta cautioned that taking minority positions should not automatically be seen as a playbook the group plans to repeat.
Since establishing the holding company in 1995, Beretta has completed more than 20 deals, broadened into ammunition and optics, and lifted annual revenue from €202 million to €1.68 billion, or $1.89 billion. The group, now based in Luxembourg, traces its origins to 1526 near Brescia, then in the Republic of Venice, and it still runs its main factory there. In the US, it has nine companies under direct control and five sites, with one more being built. Its portfolio includes Benelli, Sako, Norma and Steiner.
In regional terms, North America posted a decline of 16%, bringing revenue to €537.3 million in 2025; Europe, by contrast, increased 11.3% to €931 million on stronger demand from defense and law enforcement. The mix is shifting too: defense and law enforcement represented 40% of revenue last year, compared with 34% in 2024. Why does that matter? The Ruger tie-up is about distribution and scale, and the end markets driving growth today are increasingly institutional.
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