Benzinga | May 13, 2021 09:17AM EDT

Byrna Technologies Acquires Mission Less Lethal Assets; Terms Not Disclosed

Byrna Technologies Inc. ("Byrna" or "the Company") (NASDAQ:BYRN) (CSE:BYRN) today announced that it has acquired the assets of Mission Less Lethal ("Mission"), one of the leading U.S. manufacturers of .68 caliber, shoulder-fired non-lethal launchers for law enforcement and other security professionals (both domestically and internationally), from Kore (US) Outdoor Inc. ("Kore"). Kore is a recognized global leader in the design, development, manufacture and sale of .68 caliber launchers for the paintball industry.

In addition to acquiring Kore's non-lethal business operations and product line, which includes the MLR, Mission 4, TPR and TCR (Tactical Compact Rifle) launchers, Byrna has acquired Mission's customer list, order book and other valuable IP assets, including the exclusive right to use the key patents and intellectual property underpinning the acquired suite of products. Byrna funded the acquisition with cash on hand. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

"Mission Less Lethal represents a highly strategic tuck-in acquisition for Byrna," stated Bryan Ganz, CEO of Byrna. "Mission's technology is second to none and its products are best-in-class. In addition, its product line and customer base are very complementary to our own. While Byrna's primary focus has been the consumer market, Mission's primary focus has been security professionals including private security, law enforcement and prisons (both domestically and abroad). Likewise, from a product perspective, Byrna has focused on the design, development and manufacture of hand-held, pistol type non-lethal devices, while Mission has focused on the design, development and sale of non-lethal riflesincluding their semi-automatic and fully automatic shoulder fired launchers such as the MLR, TCR and Mission 4. These launchers, with their patented feed systems are capable of firing up to 180 rounds per minute."

"With the acquisition of the Mission product line and its unrivaled suite of IP for non-lethal applications, we believe Byrna will be incredibly well positioned to make significant inroads into the law enforcement, private security and school safety markets. At the same time, we believe Mission's signature product, the TCR, which is powered by readily available 12-gram CO2 canisters and does not require an external air tank, will have broad crossover appeal to the more than 120,000 members of Byrna Nation."

Mr. Ganz continued, "We believe the Kore patents, combined with Byrna's already extensive IP portfolio, will allow our R&D team to develop a number of exciting, new, non-lethal Byrna products for both the consumer and law enforcement markets in the months and years to come, including a pump action launcher (PAL) capable of firing Byrna's patented .68 caliber tail fin projectile (see image), which is accurate at more than 150 feet. In addition to the existing technology underpinning Mission's product line, under the terms of the agreement, Byrna has a right of first refusal for the non-lethal application of any newly developed Kore IP. In the coming weeks and months we look forward to sharing further details about this attractive and highly strategic acquisition, including when the consumer version of the Tactical Compact Rifle (TCR) will be released to the market."