Rumors Are Swirling About Kuiu Being Sold to an Anti-Public Lands Billionaire
BY Herschel Smith
1 hour, 16 minutes ago
Kuiu’s sale to a private equity group seemed like typical outdoor industry news, at least until it was revealed that one person linked to the group has a mixed track record on public-land conservation.
The sale of the popular California-based ultralight hunting brand was largely overlooked by the hunting community when it was announced on Dec. 8 in a series of press releases, including one issued by partial investor Cox Enterprises. Cox is an Atlanta-based conglomerate that includes the cable and internet provider Cox Communications.
But on Wednesday the popular social media account Rack Junkies raised concerns over the sale in a Facebook post and no small controversy ensued. Without listing names, Rack Junkies drew a connection between Cox Enterprises chair emeritus, James C. Kennedy, and his attempts to privatize stream access in Montana a decade ago (more on this in a minute).
“Now that this same billionaire conservation money [sic] owns a major hunting brand, it’s fair to ask the uncomfortable question,” wrote Rack Junkies operator Stephen Ziegler, who also owns DeLong Lures and Killshot Coffee. “Is it really a good idea for a ‘conservationist’ who uses his money to kick people off public land to own a hunting brand as big as KUIU?”
Members of the hunting community weighed in in the comments, with some requesting more details and others swearing off Kuiu forever. To be clear, Cox Outdoors does not own KUIU.
Kuiu has been “acquired by an investor group comprising conservation-driven families and businesses, including Cox Enterprises,” according to a press release. The company’s investment in Kuiu is nested under a new division of Cox Enterprises, known as Cox Outdoors, alongside Loop Tackle. Cox acquired the Scandinavian fishing company last year.
Kennedy is no longer the chairman or CEO of Cox Enterprises, and it’s unclear what his involvement with Kuiu will look like, if any. Kuiu CEO Melissa Woolf declined to name specific investors since the company is privately held.
Oh my. Another great company gets sold. To be fair, the founder and visionary passed away and now someone else runs the company.
But I’ll keep my eye on KUIU – I don’t want to see the quality of their products go down. I’ll say something about it if that happens.
We in this community still have raw memories of what Cerberus Capital did to the industry.
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