Maker of AK-47 is going private
MOSCOW — Its products are used daily all over the world. It is one of Russia’s most recognizable brands. In recent years, it has diversified, streamlined and remade its image.
Now, the Russian gun maker Kalashnikov Kontsern is undergoing a corporate shake-up. The company will be sold, according to Russian media reports, effectively privatizing it and reportedly leaving a single investor, Alexey Krivoruchko, with a controlling stake.
The sale is the latest transformation for the company, which for 70 years has been making Kalashnikov-pattern rifles, popularly known as AK-47s and used by militaries and militant groups around the world.
There are about 100 million in use today.
The company still supplies the Russian army, but it has since moved on to new moneymaking ventures, like selling rifles to civilians, building speedboats and drones, and charging royalties to video game companies for displaying its trademark.