Russia’s Kalashnikov becomes majority private-owned
Private investors have for the first time gained a majority share of Russia’s Kalashnikov arms manufacturer, producer of the AK-47 assault rifle, Rostec announced on 15 February.
Rostec said in a statement it had reduced its stake from 51 percent to a blocking stake of 25 percent plus one share.
It made the sale to Kalashnikov’s general director Alexei Krivoruchko, who was already a shareholder in the Kalashnikov Concern, and his company.
The deal cost ‘a total of more than $26.39 million,’ Rostec said.
This valuation of the company is almost double that of 2014 when Rostec opened the firm up to a public-private partnership.
The move comes as the firm is going through a major transformation, diversifying its production and focusing on exports despite being under US sanctions because of the Ukraine crisis.
Founded in 1807 in Izhevsk – 1,300 kilometres east of Moscow – the former Izhmash factory has undergone a series of upheavals since 2013 when Rostec merged it with another plant and renamed it the umbrella company Kalashnikov after Mikhail Kalashnikov, who invented the AK-47 in 1947.
It became standard issue in the Soviet army and the world’s most popular firearm due to its reliability in different weather conditions and the fact it was produced in a number of countries.
Just before his death at the age of 94 in 2013, Kalashnikov complained to President Vladimir Putin about mismanagement and low wages at the firm.
Since private investors came on board under Krivoruchko, the company has developed new models of guns and changed its image to maximise the returns from its famous name with a clothing line and souvenirs.
In 2017, Russia put up a statue of Mikhail Kalashnikov in Moscow but there were red faces as it emerged the sculptor mistakenly used a drawing of a Nazi weapon on the base.
Related Equipment in Defence Insight
You may also like
More from Defence Notes
-
![From systems integrator to multi-domain solutions provider (video)]()
From systems integrator to multi-domain solutions provider (video)
Philipp von Brandenstein, Head of Corporate Communications at Rheinmetall, explains how Eurosatory 2026 marked a new stage in the company's evolution.
-
![US Pentagon pushes for major reform of defence acquisition system]()
US Pentagon pushes for major reform of defence acquisition system
The US Department of Defense has requested new contracting authorities from Congress, using the Army's MV-75 Cheyenne programme to demonstrate how competition, digital engineering and closer industry collaboration could accelerate acquisitions.
-
![US speeds up B61-13 nuclear bomb production as programme moves further ahead of schedule]()
US speeds up B61-13 nuclear bomb production as programme moves further ahead of schedule
The US government plans to accelerate production even further after achieving key B61-13 milestones months ahead of schedule, as the programme advances amid growing US-China strategic competition.
-
![Canada’s C$2 billion ACSV deal reinforces new defence industrial strategy as allies align]()
Canada’s C$2 billion ACSV deal reinforces new defence industrial strategy as allies align
General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada is the country’s first strategic partner under the Defence Industrial Strategy’s Strategic Partnership Framework, an effort to provide companies with confidence to invest and boost the defence labour force.
-
![New UK armed forces minister frames High North defence as vital to “homeland security”]()
New UK armed forces minister frames High North defence as vital to “homeland security”
The UK’s Minister for the Armed Forces Louise Sandher-Jones made her first appearance in the role before the House of Commons Defence Committee this week to highlight efforts to improve capability in the High North.
-
![Canada seeks to strengthen industrial ties with the US on classified programmes]()
Canada seeks to strengthen industrial ties with the US on classified programmes
Ottawa explores expanding defence-industrial cooperation with Washington into sensitive programmes, an approach that could reshape NORAD modernisation, strengthen North American supply chains and create new opportunities for defence contractors.
