Penn Reels bought by K-2

[tattoobob]

Shakespeare buys Penn

For those interested, here's the press release from Shakespeare:

NEWS RELEASE



SHAKESPEARE FISHING TACKLE ACQUIRES PENN FISHING MFG. CO.,
A LEADING SALTWATER REEL COMPANY


For Immediate Release
Columbia, SC. Shakespeare Fishing Tackle, a leading manufacturer of fishing rods, reels, fishing line and accessories is pleased to announce the acquisition of Penn Fishing Tackle Mfg. Co. Founded in 1932, Penn is the market leader in saltwater trolling and spinning reels and saltwater rods.

These products include the famous Penn International®, Senators®, GT, and GTO trolling reels, as well as Slammer® and Spinfisher® SSM and SSG spinning reels.

For 75 years, Penn products have been the gold standard for offshore, inshore and surf fishing, according to Scott Hogsett, President of Shakespeare. Shakespeare is excited to be able to add Penn's broad assortment of saltwater products to complement the current Shakespeare, Pflueger and All Star freshwater, inshore and saltwater offerings.

We look forward to bringing to Penn the vast new product introductions and innovation that our customers have come to expect from Shakespeare and Pflueger each year. The Penn name is one of the greatest brands in fishing, but has lacked the resources to grow and develop markets. Our volume and economies of scale will allow us to
reinvest in the brand and grow market share.

[jimmy z]

lol. Shakespeare's Alpha reels sell for 19.99 .
As long as they,re not going to try to re-invent the wheel.
And leave my 650ssm's alone! lol

[JohnR]

THe company that bought Penn a few years ago was an investment company, right? The type that buys a company to polish back up for future sale?

[fishonnelsons]

The guy who bought, and now sold, Penn was last name Henry, first name I think is #^&#^&#^&#^& but don't quote me on that. He and another fellow from the West Coast bought it, for business reasons of course, but Henry is also an avid sportsman. He used to own "Henry's", the fishing tackle distributor out of Morehead City, South Carolina, and sold it to "Big Rock Sports", a super duper hunting/fishing USA wide distributor. He currently owns Sea Striker, also out of South Carolina I believe, which makes a wide variety of fishing equipment - rods and accessories mostly.