SPRINGFIELD, Mass.,
Jan. 15, 2020 /PRNewswire/ --
American Outdoor Brands Corporation (NASDAQ Global Select:
AOBC), today announced that its Board of Directors has named
Mark P. Smith and Brian D. Murphy as co-Presidents and co-Chief
Executive Officers of American Outdoor Brands Corp., effective
immediately. Smith was most recently President of the
Manufacturing Services Division of the company, while Murphy was
most recently President of the Outdoor Products & Accessories
Division. In their co-leadership roles, Smith and Murphy
succeed James Debney, who has
separated as President and Chief Executive Officer and as a
Director of the company, following the determination by the Board
of Directors that he engaged in conduct inconsistent with a
non-financial company policy.
The company is proceeding with its previously announced plan to
spin-off its outdoor products and accessories business as a
tax-free stock dividend to its stockholders in the second half of
calendar 2020, a transaction that would create two independent
publicly traded companies: Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. (which would encompass the
firearm business) and American Outdoor Brands, Inc. (which would
encompass the outdoor products and accessories business).
Jeffrey D. Buchanan, Chief Financial
Officer, will continue to serve as the lead executive on
coordinating and executing the separation of the two
businesses.
Upon completion of the transaction, and as previously announced,
Smith will become President and CEO of Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. Also upon completion
of the transaction, Brian D. Murphy,
currently President of the company's Outdoor Products &
Accessories Division, will become President and CEO of American
Outdoor Brands, Inc.
Barry M. Monheit, Chairman of the
Board, said, "We appreciate James' contributions toward the growth
and development of our company and its infrastructure. The
Board believes the company is fortunate to have two highly capable
and experienced leaders in Mark
Smith and Brian Murphy.
Each has played a critical role in the development of our strategic
plans, including our intention to establish each business as an
independent, publicly traded company. In addition, Mark and
Brian have each demonstrated, through years of leadership and
service, their extensive knowledge of and passion for our company,
our customers, and our industries. Their capabilities and
objectives position them well to share the combined CEO role as the
team completes the separation of our two businesses later in 2020.
The Board has every confidence that they will provide the
vision and determination to lead each independent company and its
highly respected brand portfolio toward a successful future."
About American Outdoor Brands Corporation
American
Outdoor Brands Corporation (NASDAQ Global Select: AOBC) is a
provider of quality products for shooting, hunting, and rugged
outdoor enthusiasts in the global consumer and professional
markets. The Company reports two segments: Firearms and Outdoor
Products & Accessories. Firearms manufactures handgun,
long gun, and suppressor products sold under the iconic Smith &
Wesson®, M&P®, Thompson/Center Arms™, and Gemtech® brands, as
well as provides forging, machining, and precision plastic
injection molding services. AOB Outdoor Products & Accessories
is an industry leading provider of shooting, reloading, gunsmithing
and gun cleaning supplies, specialty tools and cutlery, and
electro-optics products and technology for firearms. This segment
produces innovative, top quality products under the brands
Caldwell®; Crimson Trace®; Wheeler®; Tipton®; Frankford Arsenal®;
Lockdown®; BOG®; Hooyman®; Smith & Wesson® Accessories;
M&P® Accessories; Thompson/Center Arms™ Accessories;
Performance Center® Accessories; Schrade®; Old Timer®; Uncle
Henry®; Imperial®; BUBBA®; UST®; and LaserLyte. For more
information on American Outdoor Brands Corporation, call (844)
363-5386 or log on to www.aob.com.
Safe Harbor Statement
Certain statements contained in
this press release may be deemed to be forward-looking statements
under federal securities laws, and we intend that such
forward-looking statements be subject to the safe-harbor created
thereby. Such forward-looking statements include, among others, the
effects, timing, and tax-free nature of the spin-off; the
anticipated President and CEO of each company following the
spin-off; and the confidence that they will provide the vision and
determination to lead each independent company and its highly
respected brand portfolio toward a successful future. We caution
that these statements are qualified by important risks,
uncertainties, and other factors that could cause actual results to
differ materially from those reflected by such forward-looking
statements. Such factors include, among others, economic, social,
political, legislative, and regulatory factors; the potential for
increased regulation of firearms and firearm-related products;
actions of social activists that could have an adverse effect on
our business; the impact of lawsuits; the demand for our products;
the state of the U.S. economy in general and the firearm industry
in particular; general economic conditions and consumer spending
patterns; our competitive environment; the supply, availability,
and costs of raw materials and components; the impact of
protectionist tariffs and trade wars; speculation surrounding fears
of terrorism and crime; our anticipated growth and growth
opportunities; our ability to increase demand for our products in
various markets, including consumer, law enforcement, and military
channels, domestically and internationally; our penetration rates
in new and existing markets; our strategies; our ability to
maintain and enhance brand recognition and reputation; risks
associated with the establishment of our new 630,000 square foot
Logistics & Customer Services facility in Missouri; our ability to introduce new
products; the success of new products; our ability to expand our
markets; our ability to integrate acquired businesses in a
successful manner; the general growth of our outdoor products and
accessories business; the potential for cancellation of orders from
our backlog; and other risks detailed from time to time in our
reports filed with the SEC, including our Annual Report on Form
10-K for the fiscal year ended April 30,
2019.
Contact: Liz Sharp, VP
Investor Relations
American Outdoor Brands Corporation
(413) 747-6284
lsharp@aob.com
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SOURCE American Outdoor Brands Corporation