P. M. BRIEFING : Colt Industries Announces Plans to Sell Historic Firearms Subsidiary

The historic firearms business that gave Colt Industries Inc. its name will be sold, company officials in New York announced today.

Colt is trying to find a buyer for Colt Firearms, which employs 1,100 workers at two plants in West Hartford and Hartford, spokesman Michael G. Dunn said.

The firearms division, which has been mired in a 3-year-old strike, also recently lost its contract to manufacture M-16 rifles for the military. But Dunn said neither was a factor in today’s announcement.

Colt management decided the company should focus on its aerospace, automobile and industrial services sectors, Dunn said.

Dunn refused to disclose sales and revenue figures for the firearms division. Colt Industries, based in New York, is a privately held company and does not publicly disclose its financial statements.

Colt was founded in 1836 in Hartford by Samuel Colt, the inventor of the famous Colt .45 handgun. Dunn said he would expect a purchaser of the gun manufacturer to retain the Colt name.