The WSJ reports that Cerberus is putting together an IPO for The Freedom Group. It is not hard to see why they are choosing to do it now. S&W (SWHC) is up about 150% and Ruger (RGR) is up just under 100% since January

The WSJ reports tonight that Cerberus is preparing an initial public offering for Freedom Group, a little known company that it started in 2006 and has grown into a big player in the rifle industry.

The deal, of course, will prove to be a headline writer’s dream: (Cerberus Guns for IPO; Cerberus Aims to Take Freedom Group Public). It could also prove to be a profit machine for the private equity firm, as it cashes in on the growing market for guns and ammunition.

Comparison chart from Yahoo

While I The Freedom Group is too powerful, much like Google in the tech industry, I would rather they were public than private.

The other big news is that the WSJ quoted Bitter, a well known gun blogger. Bitter blogs at Snowflakes in Hell and The Bitch Girls. Congrats bitter! Now the race is on to be the first gun blogger quoted in The Economist 😉

Bitter has written a post-WSJ post about the IPO.

Hat Tip: Sebastian @ Snowflakes in Hell

UPDATE: Ed Friedman has written an article about this.