HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) – Remington Arms Co. Inc. will acquire Marlin Firearms Co. in a deal that brings together two firearms companies founded in the 19th century that serve a range of customers from police to hunters.

Remington, bought by Cerberus Capital Management in April, makes guns and ammunition for hunting, law enforcement, security, government and the military. The privately held Remington reported third-quarter sales of $157 million.

A spokesman for Madison, N.C.-based Remington would not comment on whether the company plans additional acquisitions. Calls to Cerberus were not immediately returned.

Marlin, also privately held, manufactures long guns, including shoulder arm designs and lever action rifles. Marlin’s lever action .22 repeater, now the Model 39, became the favorite of Annie Oakley.

Frank Kenna III, chairman of North Haven-based Marlin, said finding a buyer for the 83-year-old family-run business was an important next step.

“We knew it was time to find the right partner for Marlin to ensure our brands maintain their leadership positions and move into the next century,” he said.

Kenna cited Remington’s “resources from a manufacturing and sales and marketing position” as attractive qualities for the acquisition.

Marlin, founded in 1870 and sold in 1924 to Frank Kenna Sr., also owns the Harrington and Richardson, New England Firearms and LC Smith brands of rifles and shotguns.

Under the agreement, Robert Behn will remain president of Marlin. The deal is expected to close in January. Terms were not disclosed.

Remington, which was founded in 1816, once also manufactured typewriters, sewing machines and cash registers.

“The opportunity to combine two historic U.S.-based companies with such storied and proud histories is both challenging and exhilarating,” Tommy Millner, Remington’s chief executive, said in a statement.

The acquisition is another turn in Connecticut’s long history in the gun manufacturing industry.

George Washington nicknamed Connecticut the “provision state” during the Revolutionary War because it furnished his army with beef, salt, flour and gunpowder.

A half-century later, Eli Whitney, using a government contract, became the state’s first gun manufacturer, said Walter Woodward, Connecticut’s state historian and an assistant professor of history at the University of Connecticut. Sam Colt later founded one of the largest U.S. gun manufacturers in Connecticut.

“The roots of Connecticut’s firearms industry are deep and go back a long way,” Woodward said. “Out of that came a historic connection between American industry and American defense.”

Iron mined from northwest Connecticut was well suited for firearms production, he said.

The deal will provide both companies access to areas that now are beyond their reach in the $4.1 billion industry, said Chris Dolnack, senior vice president at the National Shooting Sports Foundation, a trade group in Newtown.

Remington will be able to tap into Marlin’s niche of lever-action rifles and Marlin can work with a much larger company with a full line of shotguns, ammunition and rifles, Dolnack said.

“I think it’s typical of what you see in most industries right now,” he said. “There’s some consolidation for sure, not only on the firearms side but also in accessories as well.”

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On the Net:

www.marlinfirearms.com

www.remington.com

AP-ES-12-27-07 1427EST