Colt guns
Scott Biegler (R), owner of Scotty’s Guns in Timber Lake, South Dakota, looks over a Colt Marksman rifle during the annual SHOT (Shooting, Hunting, Outdoor Trade) Show in Las Vegas January 15, 2013.

 

Colt Defense, the gun manufacturer that has been in business since the 1800s, is expected to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday.

The publication cites people familiar with the pending action who say the company’s “business execution issues” and some $355 million in debt are among the issues that led to the pending bankruptcy filing.

The West Hartford, Connecticut-based company is expected to continue operating during the bankruptcy process, the WSJ said.

Colt Defense has enjoyed success for much of the last century, thanks in part to lucrative contracts with the US armed forces, in which Colt was the primary manufacturer of the weapons used by front-line troops.

The contract ended in 2013 and, combined with some supply troubles and a slowdown in sales, business began to flounder. Colt missed a $10.9 million bond payment last month, much to the chagrin of holders carrying $250 million in the company’s senior bonds.

CRT Captial analyst, Kevin Starke told Reuters last week that a sale “might be best for the stumbling company and its bondholders.”

“Sometimes the best way out is to sort of scrap the whole thing and start again,” Starke said.

As reported by Business Insider