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As filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on December 22, 2021.

Registration No. 333-

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UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM S-1

REGISTRATION STATEMENT
UNDER

THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

CADRE HOLDINGS, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

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13386 International Pkwy

Jacksonville, FL 32218

(904) 741-5400

(Address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of registrant’s principal executive offices)

Warren B. Kanders

13386 International Pkwy

Jacksonville, FL 32218

(904) 741-5400

(Name, address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)

Copies of Communications to:

Robert L. Lawrence, Esq.

Kane Kessler P.C.

600 Third Avenue, 35^th Floor

New York, New York 10016

(212) 519- 5103

Approximate date of commencement of proposed sale to the public: As soon as practicable after the effective date of this registration statement.

If any of the securities being registered on this Form are to be offered on a delayed or continuous basis pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933 check the following box. ☒

If this Form is filed to register additional securities for an offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. ☐

If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(c) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. ☐

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If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(d) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):

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If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act. ☐

CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE

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The Registrant hereby amends this Registration Statement on such date or dates as may be necessary to delay its effective date until the Registrant shall file a further amendment which specifically states that this Registration Statement shall thereafter become effective in accordance with Section 8(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or until this Registration Statement shall become effective on such date as the Securities and Exchange Commission, acting pursuant to Section 8(a), may determine.

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SUBJECT TO COMPLETION, DATED DECEMBER 22, 2021

CADRE HOLDINGS, INC.

(a Delaware corporation)

27,483,350 Shares

Common Stock

This prospectus relates to the offer and sale from time to time by the selling securityholders named in this prospectus (the “Selling Securityholders”), or their permitted transferees, of up to 27,483,350 shares of the Company’s common stock, $0.0001 par value per share (“Common Stock”). We will not receive any proceeds from the sale of shares of Common Stock by the Selling Securityholders pursuant to this prospectus.

Our registration of the securities covered by this prospectus does not mean that the Selling Securityholders will offer or sell any of the shares. The Selling Securityholders may sell the shares of Common Stock covered by this prospectus in a number of different ways and at varying prices. We provide more information about how the Selling Securityholders may sell the shares in the section entitled “Plan of Distribution.”

No underwriter or other person has been engaged to facilitate the sale of the Securities in this offering. We will bear all costs, expenses and fees in connection with the registration of the Securities. The Selling Stockholders will bear all commissions and discounts, if any, attributable to their respective sales of the Securities.

Our Common Stock is listed on The New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “CDRE”. On December 20, 2021, the closing price of our Common Stock was $20.99.

We are an “emerging growth company” under federal securities laws and are subject to reduced public company reporting requirements.

Investing in our common stock involves risks. See “Risk Factors” beginning on page 11 to read about factors you should consider before buying shares of our common stock.

Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any other regulatory body has approved or disapproved of these securities or passed upon the adequacy or accuracy of this prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

Prospectus dated December  , 2021.

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The market data and certain other statistical information used throughout this prospectus are based on independent industry publications, governmental publications, reports by market research firms or other independent sources. Some data are also based on our good faith estimates.

You should rely only on the information we have provided or incorporated by reference into this prospectus, any applicable prospectus supplement and any related free writing prospectus. We have not authorized anyone to provide you with information different from that contained in this prospectus, any applicable prospectus supplement or any related free writing prospectus. No dealer, salesperson or other person is authorized to give any information or to represent anything not contained in this prospectus, any applicable prospectus supplement or any related free writing prospectus. You must not rely on any unauthorized information or representation. This prospectus is an offer to sell only the Common Stock offered hereby, but only under circumstances and in jurisdictions where it is lawful to do so. You should assume that the information in this prospectus, any applicable prospectus supplement or any related free writing prospectus is accurate only as of the date on the front of the document and that any information we have incorporated by reference is accurate only as of the date of the document incorporated by reference, regardless of the time of delivery of this prospectus or any sale of a security.

The Selling Stockholders are offering the Common Stock only in jurisdictions where such issuances are permitted. The distribution of this prospectus and the issuance of the Common Stock in certain jurisdictions may be restricted by law. Persons outside the United States who come into possession of this prospectus must inform themselves about, and observe any restrictions relating to, the issuance of the Common Stock and the distribution of this prospectus outside the United States. This prospectus does not constitute, and may not be used in connection with, an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, the Common Stock offered by this prospectus by any person in any jurisdiction in which it is unlawful for such person to make such an offer or solicitation.

This prospectus is part of a registration statement that we filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), under which the Selling Stockholders may offer from time to time up to an aggregate of 27,483,350 shares of our Common Stock in one or

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more offerings. If required, each time a Selling Stockholder offers Common Stock, in addition to this prospectus, we will provide you with a prospectus supplement that will contain specific information about the terms of that offering. We may also authorize one or more free writing prospectuses to be provided to you that may contain material information relating to that offering. We may also use a prospectus supplement and any related free writing prospectus to add, update or change any of the information contained in this prospectus or in documents we have incorporated by reference. This prospectus, together with any applicable prospectus supplements, any related free writing prospectuses and the documents incorporated by reference into this prospectus, includes all material information relating to this offering. To the extent that any statement that we make in a prospectus supplement is inconsistent with statements made in this prospectus, the statements made in this prospectus will be deemed modified or superseded by those made in a prospectus supplement. Please carefully read both this prospectus and any prospectus supplement together with the additional information described below under the heading “Risk Factors.”

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PROSPECTUS SUMMARY

This summary highlights selected information that is presented in greater detail elsewhere in this prospectus. This summary does not contain all of the information you should consider before investing in our common stock. You should read this entire prospectus carefully, including the sections titled “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” and our consolidated financial statements and the related notes included elsewhere in this prospectus, before making an investment decision. Unless expressly indicated or the context requires otherwise, the terms “Cadre Holdings,” “Company,” “we,” “us,” and “our” in this prospectus refer to Cadre Holdings, Inc., a Delaware corporation, and its consolidated subsidiaries.

Business Overview

For over 55 years, we have been a global leader in the manufacturing and distribution of safety and survivability equipment for first responders. Our equipment provides critical protection to allow its users to safely and securely perform their duties and protect those around them in hazardous or life-threatening situations. Through our dedication to superior quality, we establish a direct covenant with end users that our products will perform and keep them safe when they are most needed. We sell a wide range of products including body armor, explosive ordnance disposal equipment and duty gear through both direct and indirect channels. In addition, through our owned distribution, we serve as a one-stop shop for first responders providing equipment we manufacture as well as third-party products including uniforms, optics, boots, firearms and ammunition. The majority of our diversified product offering is governed by rigorous safety standards and regulations. Demand for our products is driven by technological advancement as well as recurring modernization and replacement cycles for the equipment to maintain its efficiency, effective performance and regulatory compliance.

As discussed below, we believe we have established leading market positions across our product portfolio through high-quality standards, innovation and a direct connection to the end users, including being a leading provider of explosive ordnance disposal technician equipment globally as well as a leading provider of safety holsters and a top provider of soft body armor for first responders in the U.S. We service the ever- changing needs of our end users by investing in research and development for new product innovation and technical advancements that continually raise the standards for safety and survivability equipment in the first responder market. Our target end user base includes domestic and international first responders such as state and local law enforcement, fire and rescue, explosive ordnance disposal technicians, emergency medical technicians (“EMT”), fishing and wildlife enforcement and departments of corrections, as well as federal agencies including the U.S. Department of State (“DoS”), U.S. Department of Defense (“DoD”), U.S. Department of Interior (“DoI”), U.S. Department of Justice (“DoJ”), U.S. Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”), U.S. Department of Corrections (“DoC”) and numerous foreign government agencies in over 104 countries.

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We have a large and diverse customer base, with our top 10 customers representing approximately 26% of sales, with no individual customer representing more than 6.5% of our total revenue, for the year ended December 31, 2020.

We are committed to honoring those who put their lives in danger through the SAVES CLUB®, which pays homage to first responders who experience a life-threatening incident in the line of work in which our armor or gear contribute to saving their lives. The club currently has 2,123 members and counting. With the help of our suppliers, distributors and first responder end users, we strive to fulfill the Company creed: Together, We Save Lives.

Industry Overview

The market for safety and survivability equipment serving first responders focuses on providing a diverse set of protective and mission enhancing products and solutions to our target end users. The market is driven by multiple factors including customer refresh cycles, growing number of personnel employed by first responder organizations, equipment replacement and modernization trends, greater emphasis on public and first responders’ safety and demographic shifts.

Body armor, explosive ordnance disposal equipment and duty gear comprise the core product areas in the safety and survivability equipment market and law enforcement personnel growth is a significant driver for our business. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects the number of law enforcement personnel in the U.S. to increase at a faster rate than broader labor market growth over the 10 year period from 2019 to 2029, or 5%, from 813,500 in 2019 to 854,200 in 2029. Demand for first responder safety and survivability equipment is also fueled by increasing law enforcement budgets. Law enforcement budgets have grown significantly on a per capita basis since 2000, supported by increased spending in major cities and by federal agencies. Per the Bureau of Justice Statistics, in real dollars (adjusted for inflation), local police-protection spending per capita rose 29% from 2000 to 2017. In 2017, real state and local police protection spending per capita was $326 vs. $258 in 2000.

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The following charts highlight budget growth for major departments from 2008 to 2020 and for domestic state and local police protection spend from 2008 to 2018 (based on available data):

In addition to the macro industry trends, each of these product segments experiences unique drivers in and of themselves. Increasing mandatory body armor use and refresh policies, evolving technical standards and increases in tactical or special weapons and tactics (“SWAT”) law enforcement personnel act as tailwinds to the body armor market. Meanwhile, the explosive ordnance disposal equipment market is driven by the continued emergence of new global threats while duty gear is driven mainly by product use and replacement cycles.

Our management estimates the annual addressable market for soft body armor (including tactical soft armor) in 2020 to be approximately $870 million. We also estimate explosive ordnance disposal equipment to have an addressable market of approximately $245 million over the seven-to-ten year life cycle of the products’ installed base. Finally, the annual addressable market for holsters for the global law enforcement and military and consumer markets is estimated to be approximately $380 million.

The international market is also poised for growth as foreign governments face increasingly complex safety challenges and seek to replace legacy equipment. Additionally, we foresee the demand for safety and survivability equipment from overseas markets to increase due to heightened awareness of the importance and effectiveness of such products and as countries are exposed to new threats. Our management estimates our addressable number of total law enforcement personnel outside the U.S. to be approximately 9,658,000, representing a substantial market opportunity.

Our management team believes that the safety and survivability equipment industry for first responders represents a stable and growing market with long-term opportunities. Given our strong market standing, direct connection to the end users, extensive distribution network, long history of innovations and high-quality standards, we believe we are well positioned to capitalize on the positive market dynamics.

Competitive Strengths

Leading, independent global provider of safety and survivability equipment for first responders. Our history as a leading provider of high-quality safety and survivability equipment dates back to 1964. Our differentiated value proposition is built on superior quality combined with an unwavering focus on critical safety standards, making us the trusted brand name for first responders. Our extensive product breadth allows us to serve as a one-stop shop for our end users and their safety and survivability equipment needs.

Strong market positions. Based on data we collect related to end users and publicly available information on awarded contracts and purchases, we believe we have leading market positions across multiple product categories through superior quality and performance differentiating us from our competition. By way of reference, we sell either concealable tactical or hard armor to 34 of

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the top 50 police departments in the U.S. by size. Likewise, we sell our duty retention holsters to 48 of the top 50 police departments in the U.S.by size. Furthermore, we are a party to multi-year contracts for the largest bomb suit teams in the world including the U.S. Army, U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Air Force. Our products continually exceed stringent industry safety standards and are recognized for advancements in performance through innovation and technological enhancement.

Mission-critical products with recurring demand characteristics. Our products provide critical protection to their end users as well as those around them, with limited or no room for error. As a result, stringent safety standards and customary warranty provisions create refresh cycles on over 80% of the equipment we supply to ensure efficient and effective performance at all times. Demand associated with these refresh cycles drives a highly predictable recurring revenue stream. The majority of our remaining revenue is associated consumable products driving recurring sales based on replenishment needs.

Attractive macro-economic and secular tailwinds driving demand and visibility for our products. The vast majority of our end markets are acyclical in nature as their demand is driven primarily by the first responder budgets and relatively unaffected by economic cycles. Our business has benefitted from key shifts serving as tailwinds to our growth strategy including the increasing focus on safety, replacement and modernization trends as well as demographic shifts and urbanization.

Compelling organic and inorganic growth roadmap. Leveraging our differentiated product development process and technical knowhow, leading domestic market position and first mover advantage with our suppliers, we plan to drive profitable organic revenue growth via new product development and geographic expansion. In particular, international expansion is an especially important initiative in our organic growth roadmap due to the significant market share opportunity and increasing investments in safety and survivability equipment in various key geographic markets. We expect to supplement our organic growth through a targeted M&A program spanning our existing core products and markets as well as attractive adjacencies.

Attractive financial profile with strong EBITDA margins and free-cash-flow generation. We generate strong profitability through diligent portfolio management of customers and contracts and continued focus on cost structure to drive operating leverage. Our strong profitability combined with minimal capital expenditure requirements result in high free-cash-flow generation, which is a key driver for our internal research and development initiatives and targeted M&A program. Our Adjusted EBITDA Conversion Rate is consistently greater than 90%.

Tenured management with significant public company platforms. Our management team is comprised of executive officers with extensive experience at public company platforms including Armor Holdings Inc., Danaher Corporation, General Electric Company and IDEX Corporation. Together they bring an established track record of strong performance operating and growing public companies both organically and via acquisitions. This experience has created a differentiated approach to our operating model through their expertise in building a culture of operational and cultural excellence, complexity reduction, and innovation.

Long-term customer relationships across diverse end markets and geographies. We maintain long-term relationships with over 23,000 first responders and federal agencies both domestically and internationally, with top customer relationships averaging an excess of 15 years. Our global presence spans over 104 countries across North America, Europe and other regions.

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Growth Strategy

Our growth plan consists of a multi-pronged approach that includes driving profitable core revenue growth through new product introductions and international market expansion combined with targeted acquisitions, enhanced through our operating model.

Profitable Core Revenue Growth. We believe that our leading market positions across a range of core categories will continue to yield significant growth opportunities. Our management team is focused on delivering new product launches, increasing customer wallet share, executing on key new contract opportunities and expanding our high-margin e-commerce and direct-to-consumer capabilities to continue to drive revenue growth. Examples of recent product innovation include the development of a 3D body sizing solution for soft armor, introduction of our next generation holsters, and working with key suppliers on the use of emerging materials for utilization in new armor products. We are also seeking to expand our leadership in high-growth technologies through the development of our blast sensor equipment for soldier protection. We believe this opportunity could represent a total potential addressable market opportunity of up to approximately $500 million based on the total size of the U.S. Department of Defense branches ultimately participating in the program. The requirement for blast sensors and the potential market for all branches of the U.S. military is supported by the Blast Pressure Exposure Study Improvement Act which was signed into law as part of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020.

International Market Expansion. We are also committed to increasing our market share internationally. Given our leading domestic market position and our products’ high-quality standards and performance, we believe we are well positioned to take advantage of the growth in international demand for safety and survivability equipment for first responders. We intend to penetrate certain international markets through leveraging existing relationships, building local market teams and expansion into relevant market adjacencies.

Targeted M&A Program. To supplement organic growth and internal research and development, our management team has historically undertaken a targeted M&A program, completing 12 transactions between 2012 and 2017. These strategic acquisitions have allowed us to expand our product and technology offerings, enter new markets and expand geographically to achieve attractive returns in our invested capital period.

We maintain a robust pipeline of opportunistic M&A opportunities, spanning our existing core products and markets as well as attractive adjacencies within the safety and survivability landscape. We plan to utilize our relatively high free-cash-flow generation and historical success in acquisitions to drive favorable acquisition structures and efficient integration. Our operating model, passion around connecting with customers and expansive channel help maximize the value created from our acquisitions.

Continuous Margin Improvement Initiatives. Our management team has shown a strong track record of achieving cost structure optimization to drive operating leverage, as evidenced by past years’ margin improvements. Our operating model starts with complexity reduction then uses lean tools and methods to continuously improve operational and commercial processes. Strategic initiatives completed over the past few years include among others, rationalizing the Company’s manufacturing footprint, divesting non-core activities, enhancing our supply-chain and optimizing customer relationships and key contracts. Together these activities have helped enhance the Company’s manufacturing and sales operations, ultimately driving profitability growth.

Risks Related to Our Business

Investing in our common stock involves substantial risk. You should carefully consider all of the information in this prospectus prior to investing in our common stock. There are several risks related to our business that are described under the section titled “Risk Factors” elsewhere in this prospectus. Among these important risks are the following:

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We are an emerging growth company as defined in Section 2(a)(19) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and Section 3(a)(80) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). Pursuant to Section 102 of the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (the “JOBS Act”), we have provided reduced executive compensation disclosure and have omitted a compensation discussion and analysis from this prospectus. Pursuant to Section 107 of the JOBS Act, we have elected to take advantage of the extended transition period provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act for complying with new or revised accounting standards.

Corporate Information

Cadre Holdings, Inc. was incorporated in the State of Delaware on April 12, 2012.

Our principal executive offices are located at 13386 International Pkwy, Jacksonville, Florida 32218 and our telephone number is (904) 741-5400. Our website address is www.cadre-holdings.com. The information on, or that may be accessed through, our website is not a part of this prospectus and the inclusion of our website address in this prospectus is an inactive textual reference only. Our principal material logos and trademarks include Safariland and Med-Eng, amongst others used for various niche product categories. Our logo and our other trade names, trademarks and service marks appearing in this prospectus are our property. Solely for convenience, our trademarks and trade names referred to in this prospectus appear without the ™ or ^® symbol, but those references are not intended to indicate, in any way, that we will not assert, to the fullest extent under applicable law, our rights, or the right of the applicable licensor to these trademarks and trade names.

Implications of Being an Emerging Growth Company and a Smaller Reporting Company

We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012, or the JOBS Act. As such, we are eligible for exemptions from various reporting requirements applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies, including, but not limited to, presenting only two years of audited financial statements in addition to any required unaudited interim financial statements with correspondingly reduced “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” disclosure in this prospectus, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, or the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation, and an exemption from the requirements to obtain a non-binding advisory vote on executive compensation or golden parachute arrangements.

In addition, an emerging growth company can take advantage of an extended transition period for complying with new or revised accounting standards. This provision allows an emerging growth company to delay the adoption of certain accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. We have elected to avail ourselves of this provision of the JOBS Act. As a result, we will not be subject to new or revised accounting standards at the same time as other public companies that are not emerging growth companies. Therefore, our consolidated financial statements may not be comparable to those of companies that comply with new or revised accounting pronouncements as of public company effective dates.

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We will remain an emerging growth company until the earliest of: (i) the last day of the fiscal year following the fifth anniversary of the consummation of this offering; (ii) the last day of the fiscal year in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.07 billion; (iii) the last day of the fiscal year in which we are deemed to be a “large accelerated filer” as defined in Rule 12b-2 under the Exchange Act, which would occur if the market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates exceeded $700.0 million as of the last business day of the second fiscal quarter of such year; or (iv) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt securities during the prior three-year period.

We are also a “smaller reporting company” as defined in the Exchange Act. We may continue to be a smaller reporting company even after we are no longer an emerging growth company. We may take advantage of certain of the scaled disclosures available to smaller reporting companies and will be able to take advantage of these scaled disclosures for so long as our voting and non-voting common stock held by non-affiliates is less than $250.0 million measured on the last business day of our second fiscal quarter, or our annual revenue is less than $100.0 million during the most recently completed fiscal year and our voting and non-voting common stock held by non-affiliates is less than $700.0 million measured on the last business day of our second fiscal quarter.

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THE OFFERING

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SUMMARY CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL DATA

The following tables summarize our consolidated financial and other data. We have derived the summary consolidated statements of operations data for the nine months ended September 30, 2021 and 2020 and the summary consolidated balance sheet data as of September 30, 2021 from our unaudited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus. We have derived the summary consolidated statements of operations data for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019 from our audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus. Our historical results are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected in the future. The following summary consolidated financial and other data should be read in conjunction with the section titled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis,” and our consolidated financial statements and the related notes included elsewhere in this prospectus.

Consolidated Statements of Operations Data:

(In thousands, except for share and per share amounts)

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Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows Data:

(In thousands)

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Consolidated Balance Sheet Data:

(In thousands)

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Non-GAAP and Other Financial Measures

We review the following non-GAAP and other financial measures to evaluate our business, measure our performance, identify trends affecting our business, formulate financial projections and make strategic decisions. Increases or decreases in our non-GAAP and other financial measures may not correspond with increases or decreases in our revenue and our non-GAAP and other financial measures may be calculated in a manner different than non-GAAP and other financial measures used by other companies. For additional information regarding these measures, see the section titled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Non-GAAP Measures.”

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RISK FACTORS

Investing in our common stock involves a high degree of risk. Before you invest in our common stock, you should carefully consider the following risks, together with all of the other information contained in this prospectus, including our financial statements and related notes. Any of the following risks could have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results, and financial condition and could cause the trading price of our common stock to decline, which would cause you to lose all or part of your investment.

Risks Related to Our Industry

The products we sell are inherently risky and could give rise to product liability, product warranty claims, and other loss contingencies.

The products that we manufacture are typically used in applications and situations that involve high levels of risk of personal injury. Failure to use our products for their intended purposes, failure to use or care for them properly, or their malfunction, or, in some limited circumstances, even correct use of our products, could result in serious bodily injury or death. Given this potential risk of injury, proper maintenance of our products is critical. Our products include: body armor and plates designed to protect against ballistic and sharp instrument penetration; explosive ordnance disposal products; police duty gear; and crowd control products.

Claims have been made, and are pending against certain of our subsidiaries, involving permanent physical injury and death allegedly caused by our products or arising from the design, manufacture or sale of such goods. If these claims are decided against us and we are found to be liable, we may be required to pay substantial damages and our insurance costs may increase significantly as a result, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Also, a significant or extended lawsuit, such as a class action, could divert significant amounts of management’s time and attention.

We cannot assure you that our insurance coverage would be sufficient to cover the payment of any potential claim. In addition, we cannot assure you that this or any other insurance coverage will continue to be available or, if available, that we will be able to obtain it at a reasonable cost. Any material uninsured loss could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, the inability to obtain product liability coverage would prohibit us from bidding for orders from certain governmental customers because, at present, many bids from governmental entities require such coverage, and any such inability would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and liquidity.

Furthermore, while our products are rigorously tested for quality, our products nevertheless do, and may continue to, fail to meet customer expectations from time-to-time. Also, not all defects are immediately detectible. Failures could result from faulty design or problems in manufacturing. In either case, we could incur significant costs to repair and/or replace defective products under warranty. We have experienced such failures in the past, and remain exposed to such failures. In some cases, product redesigns and/or rework may be required to correct a defect, and such occurrences could adversely impact future business with affected customers. Our business, financial condition, results of operations and liquidity could be materially and adversely affected by any unexpected significant warranty costs.

We are subject to extensive government regulations, and our failure or inability to comply with these regulations could materially restrict our operations and subject us to substantial penalties.

We are subject to federal licensing requirements with respect to the export of certain of our products. In addition, we are obligated to comply with a variety of federal, state and local regulations, both domestically and abroad, governing certain aspects of our sales, operations and workplace, including regulations promulgated by, among others, the U.S. Departments of Commerce, Defense, Justice, Treasury, State and Transportation, the Federal Aviation Administration, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms also regulates our manufacturing and distribution of certain destructive devices, firearms, and explosives. We also ship hazardous goods, and in doing so, must comply with the regulations of the U.S. Department of Transportation for packaging and labeling. We are also required to comply with Controlled Goods Directorate Registration regime in Canada for explosive ordnance disposal products. Additionally, the failure to obtain applicable governmental approval and clearances could materially adversely affect our ability to continue to service the government contracts we maintain. Exports of some of our products to certain international destinations may require export authorization from U.S. export control authorities, including the U.S. Departments of Commerce and

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State, and authorizations may be conditioned on re-export restrictions. Failure to receive these authorizations may materially adversely affect our revenues and in turn our business, financial condition, results of operations and liquidity from international sales. Furthermore, we have material contracts with governmental entities and are subject to rules, regulations and approvals applicable to government contractors. We are also subject to routine audits to assure our compliance with these requirements.

While we continually work to enhance our international trade compliance programs, we cannot assure you that we are or will be in full compliance at all times with applicable laws and regulations governing the export and deemed export of defense articles, defense services, and dual-use products and services that are controlled by U.S. and/or foreign governments. In those instances where we have identified non-compliances with applicable laws or regulations, we have taken affirmative steps to correct or mitigate such identified failures and to self-report them to the cognizant U.S. or foreign government agencies. We also import significant volumes of foreign-made components and materials for use in our manufacturing processes, which may be subject to import duties and other regulations. Violations of international trade (export/ import) controls in the U.S. and elsewhere may result in severe criminal and/or civil penalties, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and liquidity.

Like other companies operating internationally, we are subject to the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and other laws that prohibit improper payments to foreign governments and their officials by U.S. and other business entities. We operate in countries known to experience endemic corruption. Our extensive operations in such countries create risk of an unauthorized payment by one of our employees or agents, which would be in violation of various laws including the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act may result in severe criminal penalties, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and liquidity.

We have significant international operations and assets and, therefore, are subject to additional financial and regulatory risks.

We sell our products in foreign countries and seek to increase our level of international business activity. Our overseas operations are subject to various risks, including: U.S.-imposed embargoes and/or sanctions of sales to specific countries (which could prohibit sales of our products there); foreign import controls (which may be arbitrarily imposed and enforced and which could interrupt our supplies or prohibit customers from purchasing our products); exchange rate fluctuations; dividend remittance restrictions; expropriation of assets; war, civil uprisings and riots; government instability; the necessity of obtaining government approvals for both new and continuing operations; and legal systems of decrees, laws, taxes, regulations, interpretations and court decisions that are not always fully developed and that may be retroactively or arbitrarily applied.

One component of our strategy is to expand our operations into selected international markets. Military procurement, for example, has traditionally had a large international base. We actively market our products in Europe, North and South America, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. However, we may be unable to execute our business model in these markets or new markets. Further, foreign providers of competing products and services may have a substantial advantage over us in attracting consumers and businesses in their countries due to earlier established businesses in those countries, greater knowledge with respect to the cultural differences of consumers and businesses residing in those countries and/or their focus on a single market. In pursuing our international expansion strategy, we face several additional risks, including:

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We may also be subject to unanticipated income taxes, excise duties, import taxes, export taxes or other governmental assessments. In addition, a percentage of the payments to us in our international markets are often in local currencies. Although most of these currencies are presently convertible into U.S. dollars, we cannot be sure that convertibility will continue. Even if currencies are convertible, the rate at which they convert is subject to substantial fluctuation. Our ability to transfer currencies into or out of local currencies may be restricted or limited. Any of these events could result in a loss of business or other unexpected costs, which could reduce revenue or profits and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and liquidity.

We routinely operate in areas where local government policies regarding foreign entities and the local tax and legal regimes are often uncertain, poorly administered and in a state of flux. We cannot, therefore, be certain that we are in compliance with, or will be protected by, all relevant local laws and taxes at any given point in time. A subsequent determination that we failed to comply with relevant local laws and taxes could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and liquidity. One or more of these factors could adversely affect our future international operations and, consequently, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operation and liquidity.

Risks Related to Our Business

Many of our customers have fluctuating budgets, which may cause substantial fluctuations in our results of operations.

Customers for our products include domestic and international first responders such as state and local law enforcement, fire and rescue, explosive ordnance disposal technicians, emergency medical technicians, fishing and wildlife enforcement and departments of corrections, as well as federal agencies and numerous foreign government agencies. Government tax revenues and budgetary constraints, which fluctuate from time to time, can affect budgetary allocations for these customers. Many domestic and foreign government agencies have in the past experienced budget deficits that have led to decreased spending in defense, law enforcement and other military and security areas. In addition, first responder budgets have been the subject of increased discussions as a result of controversies relating to police reform. Our results of operations may be subject to substantial period-to-period fluctuations because of these and other factors affecting military, law enforcement and other governmental spending. A reduction of funding for state, local, municipal as well as federal and foreign governmental agencies could have a material adverse effect on sales of our products and our business, financial condition, results of operations and liquidity.

Our markets are highly competitive, and if we are unable to compete effectively, we will be adversely affected.

The markets in which we operate include a large number of competitors ranging from small businesses to multinational corporations and are highly competitive. Competitors who are larger, better financed and better known than we are may compete more effectively than we can. In order to stay competitive in our industry, we must keep pace with changing technologies and customer preferences. If we are unable to differentiate our services from those of our competitors, our revenues may decline. In addition, our competitors have established relationships among themselves or with third parties to increase their ability to address customer needs. As a result, new competitors or alliances amongst competitors may emerge and compete more effectively than we can. There is also a significant industry trend towards consolidation, which may result in the emergence of companies which are better able to compete against us. Any such development could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and liquidity.

There are limited sources for some of our raw materials and components, which may significantly curtail our manufacturing operations.

The raw materials and components that we use to manufacture our products, include SpectraShield^®,a patented product of Honeywell, Inc.; Kevlar^®, a patented product of E.I. du Pont de Nemours Co., Inc.; Dyneema^®, a patented product of Koninklijke DSM N.V.; and Twaron^®, a patented product of Teijin Limited, amongst others, which we use in manufacturing ballistic resistant garments. We purchase the materials and components that we use in manufacturing ballistic resistant garments directly from these suppliers and also through five independent weaving companies. The supply of the materials and components that we use to manufacture our products may be constrained by a number of factors, including a supplier’s need to prioritize the manufacture of rated orders issued under the Defense Production Act of 1950 (the “DPA”). We cannot predict when the United States government will invoke the DPA, and in the past we have faced shortages from our sources of materials and components when the DPA has been invoked, including shortages in the raw materials and components that we use in manufacturing ballistic resistant garments.

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Should these materials or components become unavailable for any reason, we would not necessarily be able to replace them with materials or components of like weight and strength, as our ballistic resistant garments must be manufactured to specific standards using specific materials and components that are not necessarily interchangeable based on metrics such as weight and strength. When we have faced shortages in the past, we have been able to ameliorate the issue by obtaining substitutable alternative materials and components from other commercially available sources. However, the use of alternative materials and components in our ballistic resistant garments requires research and development, recertification as well as customer acceptance of the new products utilizing these alternative materials and components, and there is no guarantee that any such recertification or acceptance will be obtained by us. Thus, if our supply of any of these materials or components were materially reduced or cut off or if there were a material increase in the prices of these materials or components, our manufacturing operations could be adversely affected and our costs increased, and our business, financial condition, results of operations and liquidity could be materially adversely affected.

Our resources may be insufficient to manage demand.

As we expand our operations, any growth may place significant demands on our management, administrative, operating and financial resources. The growth of our customer base, the types of services and products offered and the geographic markets we serve place a significant strain on our resources. In addition, we cannot easily identify and hire personnel qualified both in the provision and marketing of our products and systems. Our future performance and profitability will depend in large part on our ability to attract and retain additional management and other key personnel; our ability to implement successful enhancements to our management, accounting and information technology systems; and our ability to adapt those systems, as necessary, to respond to any growth in our business.

We are dependent on industry relationships.

A number of our products are components in our customers’ final products. Accordingly, to gain market acceptance, we must demonstrate that our products will provide advantages to the manufacturers of final products, including increasing the safety of their products, providing such manufacturers with competitive advantages or assisting such manufacturers in complying with existing or new government regulations affecting their products. There can be no assurance that our products will be able to achieve any of these advantages for the products of our customers. Furthermore, even if we are able to demonstrate such advantages, there can be no assurance that such manufacturers will elect to incorporate our products into their final products, or if they do, that our products will be able to meet such customers’ manufacturing requirements. Additionally, there can be no assurance that our relationships with our manufacturer customers will ultimately lead to volume orders for our products. The failure of manufacturers to incorporate our products into their final products could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and liquidity.

We may be unable to protect our proprietary technology.

We depend upon a variety of methods and techniques that we regard as proprietary trade secrets. We also depend upon a variety of trademarks, service marks and designs to promote brand name development and recognition. We rely on a combination of trade secret, copyright, patent, trademark, unfair competition and other intellectual property laws as well as contractual agreements to protect our rights to such intellectual property. Due to the difficulty of monitoring unauthorized use of and access to intellectual property, however, such measures may not provide adequate protection. It is possible that our competitors may access our intellectual property and proprietary information and use it to their advantage. In addition, there can be no assurance that courts will always uphold our intellectual property rights, or enforce the contractual arrangements that we have entered into to protect our proprietary technology. Any unenforceability or misappropriation of our intellectual property could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and liquidity.

Furthermore, we cannot assure you that any pending patent application or trademark application made by us will result in an issued patent or registered trademark, or that, if a patent is issued, it will provide meaningful protection against competitors or competitor technologies. In addition, if we bring or become subject to litigation to defend against claimed infringement of our rights or of the rights of others or to determine the scope and validity of our intellectual property rights, such litigation could result in substantial costs and diversion of our resources, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and liquidity. Unfavorable results in such litigation could also result in the loss or compromise of our proprietary rights, subject us to significant liabilities, require us to seek licenses from third parties on unfavorable terms, or prevent us from

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manufacturing or selling our products, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and liquidity.

Technological advances, the introduction of new products, and new design and manufacturing techniques could adversely affect our operations unless we are able to adapt to the resulting change in conditions.

Our future success and competitive position depend to a significant extent upon our proprietary technology. We must make significant investments to continue to develop and refine our technologies. We will be required to expend substantial funds for and commit significant resources to research and development activities, the engagement of additional engineering and other technical personnel, the purchase of advanced design, production and test equipment, and the enhancement of design and manufacturing processes and techniques. Our future operating results will depend to a significant extent on our ability to continue to provide design and manufacturing services for new products that compare favorably on the basis of time to introduction, cost and performance with the design and manufacturing capabilities. The success of new design and manufacturing services depends on various factors, including utilization of advances in technology, innovative development of new solutions for customer products, efficient and cost-effective services, timely completion and delivery of new product solutions and market acceptance of customers’ end products. Because of the complexity of our products, we may experience delays from time to time in completing the design and manufacture of new product solutions. In addition, there can be no assurance that any new product solutions will receive or maintain customer or market acceptance. If we are unable to design and manufacture solutions for new products of our customers on a timely and cost-effective basis, such inability could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and liquidity.

We may be adversely affected by applicable environmental, health and safety laws and regulations.

We are subject to federal, state, local and foreign laws and regulations governing environment, health and safety (“EHS”) matters, including those regulating discharges to the air and water, the management of wastes, the control of noise and odors, and the maintenance of a safe and healthy operating environment for our employees. We cannot assure you that we are at all times in complete compliance with all such requirements. Like all companies in our industry, we are subject to potentially significant fines or penalties if we fail to comply with various EHS requirements. Such requirements are complex, change frequently, and could become more stringent in the future. Accordingly, we cannot assure you whether these requirements will change in a manner requiring material capital or operating expenditures or will otherwise have a material adverse effect on us in the future. In addition, we are also subject to environmental laws requiring the investigation and clean-up of environmental contamination. We may be subject to liability, including liability for clean-up costs, if contamination is discovered at one of our current or former facilities, in some circumstances even if such contamination was caused by a third party such as a prior owner. We also may be subject to liability if contamination is discovered at a landfill or other location where we have disposed of wastes, notwithstanding that historic disposal practices may have been in accordance with all applicable requirements. We use Orthochlorabenzalmalononitrile and Chloroacetophenone chemical agents in connection with our production of our crowd control products, and these chemicals are hazardous and could cause environmental damage if not handled and disposed of properly. Moreover, private parties may bring claims against us based on alleged adverse health impacts or property damage caused by our operations. The amount of liability for cleaning up contamination or defending against private party claims could be material and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and liquidity.

We may lose money or generate less than expected profits on our fixed-price contracts.

Our direct government contracts are primarily fixed-price for a specified term. Under these contracts, we agree to perform a specific scope of work or deliver a certain quantity of end items for a fixed price. Typically, we assume more risk with fixed-price contracts since we are subject to rising labor costs and commodity price risk. Fixed-price contracts require us to price our contracts by forecasting our expenditures. When making proposals for fixed-price contracts, we rely on our estimates of costs and timing for completing these projects. These estimates reflect management’s judgments regarding our capability to complete projects efficiently and timely. Our production costs may, however, exceed forecasts due to unanticipated delays or increased cost of materials, components, labor, capital equipment or other factors. Therefore, we may incur losses on fixed price contracts that we had expected to be profitable, or such contracts may be less profitable than expected, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and liquidity.

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As it relates to our Products segment, fixed-price contracts represented less than 12% of annual net sales in 2020. For our Distribution segment, we estimate that fixed-price contracts represented approximately 55% of annual net sales in 2020.

Our business is subject to various laws and regulations favoring the U.S. government’s contractual position, and our failure to comply with such laws and regulations could harm our operating results and prospects.

As a direct and indirect contractor to the U.S. government, which represents approximately 16% of our business in 2020, we must comply with laws and regulations relating to the formation, administration and performance of federal government contracts, which effect how we do business with our clients and may impose added costs on our business. These rules generally favor the U.S. government’s contractual position.

For example, these regulations and laws include provisions that subject contracts we have been awarded to:

The accuracy and appropriateness of certain costs and expenses used to substantiate our direct and indirect costs for the U.S. government under both cost-plus and fixed-price contracts are subject to extensive regulation and audit by the Defense Contract Audit Agency, an arm of the U.S. Department of Defense. Responding to governmental audits, inquiries or investigations may involve significant expense and divert management’s attention. Our failure to comply with these or other laws and regulations could result in contract termination, suspension or debarment from contracting with the federal government, civil fines and damages and criminal prosecution and penalties, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and liquidity.

Our Chief Executive Officer has divided responsibilities and is not required to devote any specified amount of time to our business.

Our Chief Executive Officer, Warren B. Kanders, is also the Executive Chairman of Clarus Corporation, which is in the business of designing, manufacturing, and marketing equipment for outdoor recreation activities. Our employment agreement with Mr. Kanders requires that he devote his time, attention, energy, knowledge, best professional efforts and skills to the duties assigned to him by us, but he is permitted to pursue other professional endeavors and investments that do not violate the terms of his employment agreement, including provisions relative to non-competition. Mr. Kanders’ employment agreement does not require him to devote any specific amount of time to the Company. Accordingly, it is possible that Mr. Kanders will fail to devote the necessary time to our Company which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and liquidity.

We may be subject to disruptions, failures or cyber-attacks in our information technology systems and network infrastructures that could have a material adverse effect on us.

We maintain and rely extensively on information technology systems and network infrastructures for the effective operation of our business. Techniques used to gain unauthorized access to private networks are constantly evolving, and we may be unable to anticipate or prevent unauthorized access to data pertaining to our customers, including credit card and debit card information and other personally identifiable information. Like all Internet services, our direct-to-consumer service, which is supported by our own systems and those of third-party vendors, is vulnerable to computer viruses, Internet worms, break-ins, phishing attacks, attempts to overload servers with denial-of-service or other attacks and similar disruptions from unauthorized use of our and third-party vendor computer systems, any of which could lead to system interruptions, delays or shutdowns, causing loss of critical data or the unauthorized access to personally identifiable information. If an actual or perceived breach of our systems or a vendor’s systems security occurs, we may face civil liability and public perception of our security measures could be diminished, either of which would negatively affect our ability to attract customers, which could have a material adverse effect on our business. We also would be required to expend significant resources to mitigate the breach of security and to address related matters.

Further, a disruption, infiltration or failure of our information technology systems or any of our data centers including the systems and data centers of our third-party vendors as a result of software or hardware malfunctions, computer viruses, cyber-attacks, employee theft or misuse, power disruptions, natural disasters or accidents could cause breaches of data security and loss of critical

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data, which in turn could materially adversely affect our business. In addition, our ability to integrate, expand, and update our information technology infrastructure is important for our contemplated growth, and any failure to do so could have an adverse effect on our business.

We cannot fully control the actions of third parties who may have access to the customer data we collect and the customer data collected by our third party vendors. We may be unable to monitor or control such third parties and the third parties having access to our other websites in their compliance with the terms of our privacy policies, terms of use, and other applicable contracts, and we may be unable to prevent unauthorized access to, or use or disclosure of, customer information. Any such misuse could hinder or prevent our efforts with respect to growth opportunities and could expose us to liability or otherwise adversely affect our business. In addition, these third parties may become the victim of security breaches or have practices that may result in a breach, and we could be responsible for those third-party acts or failures to act.

Any failure, or perceived failure, by us or the prior owners of acquired businesses to maintain the security of data relating to our customers and employees, to comply with our posted privacy policies, our predecessors’ posted policies, laws and regulations, rules of self-regulatory organizations, or industry standards and contractual provisions to which we or they may be bound, could result in the loss of confidence in us, or result in actions against us by governmental entities or others, all of which could result in litigation and financial losses, and could potentially cause us to lose customers, revenue and employees.

Misuse of our products may adversely affect the Company’s reputation.

The target end users of the products that we sell, which include firearms, ammunition and body armor, are licensed professionals that include state and local law enforcement, federal agencies, foreign police, military agencies as well as private security firms. However, if any misuse of our products were to occur, the Company’s reputation could be harmed. The occurrence of any misuse of our products could seriously damage our reputation and the image of our brands or cause our customers to consider alternatives to the Company’s products, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and liquidity.

Adverse publicity about the Company and/or its brands, including without limitation, through social media or in connection with brand damaging events and/or public perception, could negatively impact our business.

Negative claims or publicity involving us, our board of directors, our brands, our products, services and experiences, consumer data, or any of our key employees, or suppliers could seriously damage our reputation and the image of our brands, regardless of whether such claims are accurate. Social media, which accelerates and potentially amplifies the scope of negative publicity, can increase the challenges of responding to negative claims. Negative attention or scrutiny on the various products sold by our brands can also possibly result in negative publicity. For example, heightened governmental scrutiny of the safety of crowd control products has resulted in requests by two subcommittees of the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Reform for information from major U.S. manufacturers, including us, relating to the production, sale, safety, and regulation of crowd control products. Congressional scrutiny and other similar inquiries by governmental bodies may damage our reputation and may also result in potential legislation designed to regulate the various products sold by our brands. See “Business — Government Regulation” and “Business — Legal Proceedings”.

Adverse publicity could also damage our reputation and the image of our brands, undermine consumer confidence in us and reduce long-term demand for our products, even if such adverse publicity is unfounded or not material to our operations. If the reputation, culture or image of any of our brands is tarnished or receives negative publicity, then our business, financial condition, results of operations and liquidity could be materially adversely affected.

The terms of our outstanding long-term debt and any requirements to incur further indebtedness or refinance our outstanding indebtedness in the future could have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

Our significant payment obligations under the terms of our long-term debt, $225.9 million of which was outstanding as of September 30, 2021, together with any additional indebtedness we may incur in the future (including under the New Credit Agreement), could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects. For example, our indebtedness or any additional financing may:

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Any of the foregoing, alone or in combination, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects. A breach of, or the inability to comply with, the covenants in our term loan facility and revolving credit agreement could result in an event of default, in which case the lenders will have the right to declare all borrowings to be immediately due and payable, which would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects and could lead to foreclosure on our assets

In the future, we may need to refinance our indebtedness. However, additional financing may not be available on favorable commercial terms to us, or at all. If, at such time, market conditions are materially different or our credit profile has deteriorated, the cost of refinancing such debt may be significantly higher than our indebtedness existing at that time. Furthermore, we may not be able to procure refinancing at all. Any failure to meet any future debt service obligations through use of cash flow, refinancing or otherwise, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

Risks Related to our Acquisition Strategy

A number of other companies are seeking to make acquisitions in our industry, which may make our acquisition strategy more difficult or expensive to pursue.

We compete with many other companies, and certain of them have greater financial resources than we do for pursuing and consummating acquisitions and to further develop and integrate acquired businesses. Our strategy of growing through the acquisition of businesses and assets relies on our ability to consummate acquisitions to develop and offer new products that foster the growth of our core business, and to establish ourselves in other geographic regions and related businesses in which we do not currently operate. Increased competition for acquisition opportunities may impede our ability to acquire these companies because they choose another acquirer. It could also increase the price that we must pay for these companies. Either of these outcomes could reduce our growth, harm our business and adversely impact our ability to consummate acquisitions.

We may be unsuccessful in identifying suitable acquisition candidates, which may negatively impact our competitive position and our growth strategy.

In addition to organic growth, our future growth will be driven by our selective acquisition of additional businesses, our competitors and complementary businesses. Our growth through acquisitions, to date, has consisted of 12 acquisitions and two divestitures and we are in discussions to acquire additional businesses including our planned acquisitions. We may be unable to identify other suitable targets for future acquisition or acquire businesses at favorable prices, which would negatively impact our growth strategy. We may not be able to execute our growth strategy through organic expansion, and if we are unable to identify and successfully acquire new businesses complementary to ours, we may not be able to offer new products in line with industry trends.

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The due diligence process that we undertake in connection with acquisitions may not reveal all facts that may be relevant in connection with an investment.

Before making acquisitions and other investments, we conduct due diligence of the target company that we deem reasonable and appropriate based on the facts and circumstances applicable to each acquisition. The objective of the due diligence process is to assess the investment opportunities based on the facts and circumstances surrounding an investment or acquisition. When conducting due diligence, we may be required to evaluate important and complex business, financial, tax, accounting, environmental and legal issues. The due diligence process may at times be subjective with respect to newly-organized companies for which only limited information is available. Accordingly, we cannot be certain that the due diligence investigation that we conduct with respect to any investment or acquisition opportunity will reveal or highlight all relevant facts that may be necessary or helpful in evaluating such investment opportunity. For example, instances of fraud, accounting irregularities and other deceptive practices can be difficult to detect. Executive officers, directors and employees may be named as defendants in litigation involving a company we are acquiring or have acquired. Even if we conduct extensive due diligence on a particular investment or acquisition, we may fail to uncover all material issues relating to such investment, including regarding the controls and procedures of a particular target or the full scope of its contractual arrangements. We rely on our due diligence to identify potential liabilities in the businesses we acquire, including such things as potential or actual lawsuits, contractual obligations or liabilities imposed by government regulation. However, our due diligence process may not uncover these liabilities, and where we identify a potential liability, we may incorrectly believe that we can consummate the acquisition without subjecting ourselves to that liability. If our due diligence fails to identify issues specific to an investment or acquisition, we may obtain a lower return from that transaction than the investment would return or otherwise subject ourselves to unexpected liabilities. We may also be forced to write-down or write-off assets, restructure our operations or incur impairment or other charges that could result in our reporting losses. Charges of this nature could contribute to negative market perceptions about us or our shares of common stock.

We may face difficulty in integrating the operations of the businesses we have acquired and may acquire in the future.

Acquisitions have been and will continue to be an important component of our growth strategy; however, we will need to integrate these acquired businesses successfully in order for our growth strategy to succeed and for our Company to become profitable. We will implement, and the management teams of the acquired businesses will adopt, our policies, procedures and best practices. We may face difficulty with the integration of the businesses we acquire, such as coordinating geographically dispersed organizations, integrating personnel with disparate business backgrounds and combining different corporate cultures. Furthermore, we may fail in implementing our policies and procedures, or the policies and procedures may not be effective or provide the results we anticipate for a particular business. Further, we will be relying on these policies and procedures in preparing our financial and other reports as a public company, so any failure of acquired businesses to properly adopt these policies and procedures could impair our public reporting. Management of the businesses we acquire may not have the operational or business expertise that we require to successfully implement our policies, procedures and best practices.

We typically retain the management of the businesses we acquire and rely on them to continue running their businesses, which leaves us vulnerable in the event they leave our Company.

We seek to acquire businesses that have strong management teams that will continue to run the business after the acquisition. We often rely on these individuals to conduct the day-to-day operations, and pursue the growth, of these acquired businesses. Although we typically seek to sign employment agreements with the managers of acquired businesses, it remains possible that these individuals will leave our organization. This would harm the prospects of the businesses they manage, potentially causing us to lose money on our investment and harming our growth and financial results.

Risks Related to Ownership of our Common Stock

Our executive officers, directors and principal stockholders, if they choose to act together, will continue to have the ability to control all matters submitted to stockholders for approval.

Our executive officers, directors and stockholders who own more than 5% of our outstanding common stock and their respective affiliates held, in the aggregate, shares representing approximately 46.80% of our outstanding voting stock. As a result, if these stockholders were to choose to act together, they would be able to control or significantly influence all matters submitted to our stockholders for approval, as well as our management and affairs. For example, these persons, if they choose to act together, would

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control or significantly influence the election of directors and approval of any merger, consolidation or sale of all or substantially all of our assets. This concentration of ownership control may:

An active trading market for our common stock may not develop.

Prior to our initial public offering, there has been no public market for our common stock. Although our common stock is listed on NYSE, an active trading market for our shares may never develop or be sustained following our initial public offering. Although our common stock is listed on NYSE, an active trading market for our shares may never develop or be sustained following our initial public offering. If an active market for our common stock does not develop, it may be difficult for you to sell shares without depressing the market price for the shares or at all.

Our stock price may be volatile or may decline regardless of our operating performance, resulting in substantial losses for investors.

The market price of our common stock may fluctuate significantly in response to numerous factors, many of which are beyond our control, including:

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In addition, stock markets have experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations that have affected and continue to affect the market prices of equity securities of many technology companies, including e-commerce companies. Stock prices of many technology companies, including e-commerce companies, have fluctuated in a manner unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of those companies. In the past, stockholders have instituted securities class action litigation following periods of market volatility. If we were to become involved in securities litigation, it could subject us to substantial costs, divert resources and the attention of management from our business and materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results.

Substantial future sales of shares of our common stock could cause the market price of our common stock to decline.

Sales of a substantial number of shares of our common stock in the public market, or the perception that these sales might occur, could depress the market price of our common stock and could impair our ability to raise capital through the sale of additional equity securities. We are unable to predict the effect that such sales may have on the prevailing market price of our common stock.

All of our executive officers, directors, holders of substantially all of our outstanding capital stock and substantially all of our stock options and restricted stock units are subject to lock-up agreements that restrict their ability to transfer shares of our capital stock for 180 days from November 3, 2021. Subject to certain exceptions, the lock-up agreements limit the number of shares of capital stock that may be sold immediately following the Company’s initial public offering. Subject to certain limitations, as of May 2, 2022, approximately 27,392,350 shares of common stock will become eligible for sale upon expiration of the 180-day lock-up period. The representatives of the underwriters of the initial public offering may, in their sole discretion, permit our stockholders who are subject to these lock-up agreements to sell shares prior to the expiration of the lock-up agreements.

If securities or industry analysts do not publish research or reports about our business, or publish negative reports about our business, our share price and trading volume could decline.

The trading market for our common stock will depend in part on the research and reports that securities or industry analysts publish about us or our business, our market and our competitors. We do not have any control over these analysts. If one or more of the analysts who cover us downgrade our shares or change their opinion of our shares, our share price would likely decline. If one or more of these analysts cease coverage of our company or fail to regularly publish reports on us, we could lose visibility in the financial markets, which could cause our share price or trading volume to decline.

We are an emerging growth company and a smaller reporting company, and any decision on our part to comply only with certain reduced reporting and disclosure requirements applicable to emerging growth companies and smaller reporting companies could make our common stock less attractive to investors.

We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in the JOBS Act, and, for as long as we continue to be an emerging growth company, we may choose to take advantage of exemptions from various reporting requirements applicable to other public companies but not to emerging growth companies, including:

We could be an emerging growth company until December 31, 2026. Our status as an emerging growth company will end as soon as any of the following takes place:

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We cannot predict if investors will find our common stock less attractive if we choose to rely on any of the exemptions afforded emerging growth companies. If some investors find our common stock less attractive because we rely on any of these exemptions, there may be a less active trading market for our common stock and the market price of our common stock may be more volatile.

Under the JOBS Act, emerging growth companies can also delay adopting new or revised accounting standards until such time as those standards apply to private companies. We have elected to avail ourselves of this provision of the JOBS Act. As a result, we will not be subject to new or revised accounting standards at the same time as other public companies that are not emerging growth companies. Therefore, our consolidated financial statements may not be comparable to those of companies that comply with new or revised accounting pronouncements as of public company effective dates.

We are also a “smaller reporting company” as defined in the Exchange Act. We may continue to be a smaller reporting company even after we are no longer an emerging growth company. We may take advantage of certain of the scaled disclosures available to smaller reporting companies and will be able to take advantage of these scaled disclosures for so long as our voting and non-voting common stock held by non-affiliates is less than $250.0 million measured on the last business day of our second fiscal quarter, or our annual revenue is less than $100.0 million during the most recently completed fiscal year and our voting and non-voting common stock held by non-affiliates is less than $700.0 million measured on the last business day of our second fiscal quarter.

The requirements of being a public company may strain our resources, divert management’s attention and affect our ability to attract and retain additional executive management and qualified board members.

As a public company, we are subject to the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act, the Sarbanes- Oxley Act, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, the listing requirements of the NYSE and other applicable securities rules and regulations. Compliance with these rules and regulations will increase our legal and financial compliance costs, make some activities more difficult, time-consuming or costly and increase demand on our systems and resources, particularly after we are no longer an “emerging growth company.” The Exchange Act requires, among other things, that we file annual, quarterly and current reports with respect to our business and results of operations. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires, among other things, that we maintain effective disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting. In order to maintain and, if required, improve our disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting to meet this standard, significant resources and management oversight may be required. As a result, management’s attention may be diverted from other business concerns, which could materially adversely affect our business and results of operations. We will need to hire additional employees or engage outside consultants to comply with these requirements, which will increase our costs and expenses.

In addition, changing laws, regulations and standards relating to corporate governance and public disclosure are creating uncertainty for public companies, increasing legal and financial compliance costs and making some activities more time-consuming. These laws, regulations and standards are subject to varying interpretations, in many cases due to their lack of specificity, and, as a result, their application in practice may evolve over time as new guidance is provided by regulatory and governing bodies. This could result in continuing uncertainty regarding compliance matters and higher costs necessitated by ongoing revisions to disclosure and governance practices. We intend to invest resources to comply with evolving laws, regulations and standards, and this investment may result in increased general and administrative expenses and a diversion of management’s time and attention from revenue-generating activities to compliance activities. If our efforts to comply with new laws, regulations and standards differ from the activities intended by regulatory or governing bodies due to ambiguities related to their application and practice, regulatory authorities may initiate legal proceedings against us, and our business may be materially adversely affected.

We also expect that being a public company will make it more expensive for us to obtain director and officer liability insurance, and we may be required to accept reduced coverage or incur substantially higher costs to obtain coverage. These factors could also make it more difficult for us to attract and retain qualified members of our board of directors, particularly to serve on our audit committee and compensation committee, and qualified executive officers.

As a result of disclosure of information in this prospectus and in filings required of a public company, our business and financial condition will become more visible, which we believe may result in threatened or actual litigation, including by competitors and other third parties. If such claims are successful, our business and results of operations could be materially adversely affected, and even if

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the claims do not result in litigation or are resolved in our favor, these claims, and the time and resources necessary to resolve them, could divert the resources of our management and materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and operating results.

Anti-takeover provisions in our charter documents and under Delaware law could make an acquisition of our company more difficult, limit attempts by our stockholders to replace or remove our current management and limit the market price of our common stock, which may also have the consequence of depressing the market price of our common stock.

Our status as a Delaware corporation and the anti-takeover provisions of Delaware law may discourage, delay, or prevent a change in control by prohibiting us from engaging in a business combination with an interested stockholder for a period of three years after the date of the transaction in which the person became an interested stockholder, even if a change of control would be beneficial to our existing stockholders. In addition, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws contain provisions that may make the acquisition of our company more difficult, including the following:

These provisions, alone or together, may (a) frustrate or prevent any attempts by our stockholders to replace or remove our current management by making it more difficult for stockholders to select or replace members of our board of directors, which is responsible for appointing the members of our management: (b)discourage, delay, or prevent a transaction involving a change in control of our Company, and/or (c)discourage proxy contests, any of which, under certain circumstances, could limit the opportunity for our stockholders to receive a premium for their shares of our common stock, and could also affect the market price of our common stock.

Our amended and restated bylaws provide that the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware will be the exclusive forum for substantially all disputes between us and our stockholders, which could limit our stockholders’ ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with us or our directors, officers or employees.

Our amended and restated bylaws provide that the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware (or other state courts of the State of Delaware if the Court of Chancery in the State of Delaware does not have jurisdiction or the federal district court for the District of Delaware if no state court in the State of Delaware has jurisdiction) is the exclusive forum for any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf; any action asserting a breach of fiduciary duty; any action asserting a claim against us arising pursuant to the Delaware General Corporation Law, our certificate of incorporation or our bylaws; or any action asserting a claim against us that is governed by the internal affairs doctrine or any action asserting an “internal corporate claim” as that term is defined in Section 115 of the Delaware General Corporation Law. Our amended and restated bylaws provide that this choice of forum does not apply to any complaint asserting a cause of action under the Securities Act or the Exchange Act. Finally, our amended and restated bylaws provide that the federal district courts of the United States of America will be the sole and exclusive forum for the resolution of any complaint asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act or the Exchange Act. Although we believe this provision benefits us by providing increased consistency in the application of Delaware law in the types of lawsuits to which it applies, a court may determine that this provision is unenforceable, and to the extent it is enforceable, the provision may have the effect of discouraging lawsuits

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against our directors and officers, although our stockholders cannot waive our compliance with federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder.

Our amended and restated bylaws provide that the exclusive forum provision will be applicable to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law. Section 27 of the Exchange Act creates exclusive federal jurisdiction over all suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Exchange Act or the rules and regulations thereunder. As a result, the exclusive forum provision will not apply to suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Exchange Act or any other claim for which the federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction.

Our payment of future quarterly dividends on our common stock is subject to the discretion and approved of our Board of Directors.

On November 11, 2021, the Company announced that its Board of Directors approved the initiation of a quarterly cash dividend program of $0.08 per share of the Company’s common stock or $0.32 per share on an annualized basis (the “Quarterly Cash Dividend”). While we intend to pay regular Quarterly Cash Dividends for the foreseeable future, all subsequent dividends will be reviewed quarterly and declared at the discretion and approval of our board of directors and will depend upon, among other things, our results of operations, capital requirements, general business conditions, contractual restrictions under our New Credit Agreement on the payment of dividends, legal and regulatory restrictions on the payment of dividends, and other factors our board of directors deems relevant. Therefore, you should not purchase our common stock if you need immediate or future income by way of dividends from your investment. In addition, upon an event of default under our New Credit Agreement, we are prohibited from declaring or paying any dividends on our common stock or generally making other distributions to our stockholders.

We could be subject to securities class action litigation.

In the past, securities class action litigation has often been brought against a company following a decline in the market price of its securities. If we face such litigation, it could result in substantial costs and a diversion of management’s attention and resources, which could harm our business.

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation authorizes the issuance of shares of blank check preferred stock.

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that our board of directors will be authorized to issue from time to time, without further stockholder approval, up to 10,000,000 shares of preferred stock in one or more series and to fix or alter the designations, preferences, rights and any qualifications, limitations or restrictions of the shares of each series, including the dividend rights, dividend rates, conversion rights, voting rights, terms of redemption, including sinking fund provisions, redemption price or prices, liquidation preferences and the number of shares constituting any series or designations of any series. Such shares of preferred stock could have preferences over our common stock with respect to dividends and liquidation rights. We may issue additional preferred stock in ways which may delay, defer or prevent a change in control of us without further action by our stockholders. Such shares of preferred stock may be issued with voting rights that may adversely affect the voting power of the holders of our common stock by increasing the number of outstanding shares having voting rights, and by the creation of class or series voting rights.

We may issue a substantial amount of our common stock in connection with future acquisitions, and the sale of those shares could adversely affect our stock price.

As part of our acquisition strategy, we anticipate issuing additional shares of common stock as consideration for such acquisitions. To the extent that we are able to grow through acquisitions and issue shares of our common stock as consideration, the number of outstanding shares of common stock that will be eligible for sale in the future is likely to increase substantially. Persons receiving shares of our common stock in connection with these acquisitions may be more likely to sell large quantities of their common stock, which may influence the price of our common stock. In addition, the potential issuance of additional shares in connection with anticipated acquisitions could lessen demand for our common stock and result in a lower price than would otherwise be obtained.

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SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This prospectus contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws, which statements involve substantial risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements generally relate to future events or our future financial or operating performance. In some cases, you can identify forward- looking statements because they contain words such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “might,” “expects,” “plans,” “anticipates,” “could,” “intends,” “target,” “projects,” “contemplates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “predicts,” “potential,” or “continue” or the negative of these words or other similar terms or expressions that concern our expectations, strategy, plans, or intentions. Forward-looking statements contained in this prospectus include, but are not limited to, statements about:

These forward-looking statements are only predictions, are uncertain and involve substantial known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause our (or our industry’s) actual results, levels of activity or performance to be materially different from any future results, levels of activity or performance expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. The “Risk Factors” section of this prospectus sets forth detailed risks, uncertainties and cautionary statements regarding our business and these forward-looking statements. Moreover, we operate in a very competitive and rapidly changing regulatory environment. New risks and uncertainties emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for us to predict all of the risks and uncertainties that could have an impact on the forward-looking statements contained in this prospectus.

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We cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity or performance. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this prospectus. These cautionary statements should be considered with any written or oral forward-looking statements that we may issue in the future. Except as required by applicable law, including the securities laws of the U.S., we do not intend to update any of the forward-looking statements to conform these statements to reflect actual results, later events or circumstances or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. Our forward- looking statements do not reflect the potential impact of any future acquisitions, mergers, dispositions, joint ventures or other investments or strategic transactions we may engage in.

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INDUSTRY AND MARKET DATA

This prospectus contains statistical data, estimates, and forecasts that are based on independent industry publications, or other publicly available information, as well as other information based on our internal sources. Although we believe that the third-party sources referred to in this prospectus are reliable, we have not independently verified the information provided by these third parties. While we are not aware of any misstatements regarding any third-party information presented in this prospectus, their estimates, in particular, as they relate to projections, involve numerous assumptions, are subject to risks and uncertainties, and are subject to change based on various factors, including those discussed under the section titled “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this prospectus.

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USE OF PROCEEDS

All of the Common Stock offered by the Selling Securityholders pursuant to this prospectus will be sold by the Selling Securityholders for their respective accounts. We will not receive any of the proceeds from these sales.

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DIVIDEND POLICY

We have previously declared and paid a one-time cash dividend on our common stock, declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.08 per share which was paid on December 7, 2021 and we expect to pay a quarterly cash dividend of $0.08 per share, or $0.32 on an annualized basis, on our common stock for the foreseeable future, but we may elect to retain all of our future earnings, if any, to finance the growth and development of our business. Any determination to pay dividends in the future will be at the discretion of our board of directors and will be dependent on a number of factors, including the terms of our New Credit Agreement, our earnings, capital requirements, our overall financial condition and other factors that our board of directors considers relevant.

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CAPITALIZATION

The following table sets forth our consolidated cash and cash equivalents and capitalization as of September 30, 2021. Such information is set forth on the following basis:

The information discussed below is illustrative only. You should read this table together with “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and our audited and unaudited consolidated financial statements and the related notes appearing elsewhere in this prospectus.

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SUMMARY CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL DATA

The following tables summarize our consolidated financial and other data. We have derived the summary consolidated statements of operations data for the nine months ended September 30, 2021 and 2020 and the summary consolidated balance sheet data as of September 30, 2021 from our unaudited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus. We have derived the summary consolidated statements of operations data for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019 from our audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus. Our historical results are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected in the future. The following summary consolidated financial and other data should be read in conjunction with the section titled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis,” and our consolidated financial statements and the related notes included elsewhere in this prospectus.

Consolidated Statements of Operations Data:

(In thousands, except for share and per share amounts)

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Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows Data:

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Consolidated Balance Sheet Data:

(In thousands)

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Non-GAAP and Other Financial Measures

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We review the following non-GAAP and other financial measures to evaluate our business, measure our performance, identify trends affecting our business, formulate financial projections and make strategic decisions. Increases or decreases in our non-GAAP and other financial measures may not correspond with increases or decreases in our revenue and our non-GAAP and other financial measures may be calculated in a manner different than non-GAAP and other financial measures used by other companies. For additional information regarding these measures, see the section titled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Non-GAAP Measures.”

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MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

The following discussion and analysis of the financial condition and results of operations of Cadre Holdings, Inc. (D/B/A The Safariland Group) (“Cadre,” “the Company” “we,” “us” and “our”) should be read together with our unaudited consolidated financial statements as of and for the nine months ended September 30, 2021 and 2020 and our audited consolidated financial statements as of and for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019 in each case together with related notes thereto, included elsewhere in this prospectus. The following discussion contains forward-looking statements that reflect future plans, estimates, beliefs and expected performance. The forward-looking statements are dependent upon events, risks and uncertainties that may be outside of Cadre’s control. Our actual results may differ significantly from those projected in the forward- looking statements. Factors that might cause future results to differ materially from those projected in the forward- looking statements include, but are not limited to, those discussed in the sections entitled “Risk Factors” and “Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” included elsewhere in this prospectus. Certain total amounts may not foot due to rounding.

Our Business

Cadre is a global leader in the manufacturing and distribution of safety and survivability equipment for first responders. Our equipment provides critical protection to allow its users to safely and securely perform their duties and protect those around them in hazardous or life-threatening situations. Through our dedication to superior quality, we establish a direct covenant with end users that our products will perform and keep them safe when they are most needed. We sell a wide range of products including body armor, explosive ordnance disposal equipment and duty gear through both direct and indirect channels. In addition, through our owned distribution, we serve as a one-stop shop for first responders providing equipment we manufacture as well as third-party products including uniforms, optics, boots, firearms and ammunition. The majority of our diversified product offering is governed by rigorous safety standards and regulations. Demand for our products is driven by technological advancement as well as recurring modernization and replacement cycles for the equipment to maintain its efficiency, effective performance and regulatory compliance.

We service the ever-changing needs of our end users by investing in research and development for new product innovation and technical advancements that continually raise the standards for safety and survivability equipment in the first responder market. Our target end user base includes domestic and international first responders such as state and local law enforcement, fire and rescue, explosive ordnance disposal technicians, emergency medical technicians (“EMT”), fishing and wildlife enforcement and departments of corrections, as well as federal agencies including the U.S. Department of State (“DoS”), U.S. Department of Defense (“DoD”), U.S. Department of Interior (“DoI”), U.S. Department of Justice (“DoJ”), U.S. Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”), U.S. Department of Corrections (“DoC”) and numerous foreign government agencies in over 104 countries.

The following table sets forth a summary of our financial highlights for the periods indicated:

Net sales increased by $26.7 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2021 as compared to the nine months ended September 30, 2020, primarily as a result of higher demand for structural armor, body armor, crowd control products and distribution of ammunition and firearms. Net sales decreased by $16.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2020 as compared to December 31, 2019, primarily as a result of the Mustang Survival Holdings Corporation (“Mustang”) sale in June 2019 which contributed $18.8 million in sales in 2019.

Net income decreased by $14.3 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2021 as compared to the nine months ended September 30, 2020, primarily as a result of a loss on extinguishment of debt incurred from the execution of the New Credit Agreement, an increase in provision for income taxes due to the release of a valuation allowance on a portion of our deferred tax

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assets in December 2020 and the following non-recurring transactions recognized in the period ended September 30, 2020: a gain on the sale of a long-lived asset and receipt of earn-out stock payments. These were offset by improvements in gross profit due to increased sales, favorable pricing and product mix. Net income increased by $40.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2020 as compared to December 31, 2019, primarily as a result of improvements in gross profit of $6.9 million driven by price, continuous improvement projects, product / customer rationalization and portfolio mix; reduction in certain selling, general and administrative expenses due primarily to $7.6 million of goodwill impairments taken in 2019 compared to no goodwill impairment in 2020, reduced travel, marketing and health care costs of $3.4 million, an increase in other general income of $6.2 million from a long-lived asset sale, gains on sales of equity securities in other (expense) income, net of $2.2 million, and a benefit for income taxes of $10.6 million from the release of a valuation allowance on a portion of our deferred tax assets, partially offset by higher transaction and restructuring costs of $4.9 million.

COVID-19

On January 30, 2020, the World Health Organization (“WHO”) announced a global health emergency because of a new strain of coronavirus originating in Wuhan, China (the “COVID-19 outbreak”) and the risks to the international community as the virus spreads globally beyond its point of origin. In March 2020, the WHO classified the COVID-19 outbreak as a pandemic, based on the rapid increase in exposure globally.

The full impact of the COVID-19 pandemic continues to evolve as of the date of this prospectus. During 2020 and the first nine months of 2021, the financial results of our business were relatively unaffected by COVID-19. In all of the countries and states in which our business operates, the relevant local authorities have deemed our business to be essential in nature and thereby allowed us to continue operations during any government mandated shutdowns. We took and continue to take many measures to mitigate outbreaks in any of our facilities that would negatively impact the business, such as allowing employees to work remote, new manufacturing layouts to enable social distancing and daily temperature checks. The extent to which our business may be affected by the COVID-19 pandemic will largely depend on both current and future developments, including its duration, spread and treatment, all of which are highly uncertain and cannot be reasonably predicted. While any impact to global markets is uncertain, the Company continues to monitor developments.

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FACTORS AFFECTING RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

The below factors have been important to our business and we anticipate them to impact our results of operations in future periods:

Broad-based, Public Sector Customer Base

We have a highly diversified customer base, with our largest customer accounting for 6.4% of our 2020 net sales and our top 10 customers accounting for 25.9% of our 2020 net sales. Our extensive distribution network of over 1,000 distributors and retailers allows us to service both large and small agencies globally. We believe our business is resilient to varying economic cycles, as our customers’ demand for many of our products is non-discretionary. In addition, technological developments and manufacturers’ warranties contribute to relatively steady equipment replacement rates. For example, domestically we offer five-year warranties for soft armor, an important product for domestic law enforcement, and our customers typically replace their equipment before the related warranties expire. We have a dedicated sales force and third-party distributors that maintain longstanding relationships with our end users, providing training and information on the effective use of our products. We will continue to invest in our marketing and sales teams at similar levels to maintain those relationships.

On the other hand, demand for our products, as well as the timing of that demand, may be subject to governmental budget constraints at the national (including U.S. federal) and local government levels. Government spending levels, as well as political conditions, electoral agendas and public opinion, can have a direct impact on appropriations decisions and demand for specific Personal Protective Equipment. Our business has in the past been both positively and negatively affected by such trends and may be impacted in the future.

Diverse Supplier Base

We depend on certain domestic and international suppliers for the delivery of components used in the manufacturing of our products. Our reliance on third-party suppliers creates risks related to our potential inability to obtain an adequate supply of raw materials or components and reduced control over pricing and timing of delivery of components and sub-assemblies. Specifically, we depend on suppliers for materials such as ballistic fabrics, customized metals and plastics, sub-assemblies and machined parts. We seek to preserve access to necessary materials through long-term supply agreements with select suppliers and the diversification of our supplier base. No vendor makes up more than 10% of total purchases and our top 10 vendors account for less than 30% of total purchases. We will maintain a diverse supplier base and continue to evaluate our suppliers and implement long-term supply agreements as necessary to mitigate our risk.

Business Optimization Initiatives

As part of our productivity initiatives, we have in the past and continue to take advantage of opportunities to enhance margins through productivity, including the rationalization of manufacturing facilities, asset sales and other productivity initiatives to drive efficiencies. The costs of these initiatives, which are typically incurred before we internalize projected benefits, may distort our underlying financial performance in a given period. For example, over the last three years, we implemented programs aimed at making our manufacturing facilities more productive, consolidating select manufacturing facilities and making more efficient use of our raw materials and inventory, among others. We also practice as part of our operating system, a practice often referred to as root-cause/countermeasure (“RCCM”) whereas we identify root causes that unlock efficiencies and implement sustainable long term countermeasures to ensure we capture the opportunity. All of these practices allow us to more effectively manage our manufacturing efficiency and cost base. We anticipate to continue to invest in our business optimization initiatives to offset inflation and expand margins in the future.

Research and Development

Research and Development (“R&D”) is a critical component of our business strategy as a means of differentiating our products from competitors. R&D primarily consists of personnel costs, employee benefits, certification, and testing fees. Our continued investment in R&D allows us to market and patent innovative solutions to address our customer’s needs in a rapidly changing environment. These investments allow us to be innovative in the industry and ensure our law enforcement and military personnel have the safest and most secure solutions. We also engage with government agencies for funded R&D programs that allow us to work

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directly with end users so that we ensure we understand all the challenges they face in the field. We anticipate our investment in R&D excluding government funding to be relatively stable in as a percentage of sales, but could increase due to government mandated certification changes or as we explore new technologies. These investments will further differentiate our business and products, providing accelerated sales growth and margin expansion.

Targeted Mergers & Acquisition program

To supplement business growth and internal research and development, our management team has historically undertaken a targeted M&A program, completing 12 business acquisitions between 2012 and 2017. These strategic acquisitions have allowed us to expand our product and technology offerings, enter new markets and expand geographically to achieve attractive returns on our invested capital.

Leveraging our successful track record of acquisitions, we maintain a robust pipeline of M&A opportunities, spanning our existing core products and markets as well as attractive adjacencies within the safety and survivability landscape. We plan to utilize our relatively high Adjusted EBITDA Conversion⁽¹⁾ and historical success in acquisitions to drive favorable acquisition structures and seamless integration. Our experience and operating model allow us to optimize operations, scale appropriately, leverage our direct connection with end users and distribution partners, and utilize our procurement power to help maximize the value created from our acquisitions. Our focus on maintaining a robust pipeline of targets will continue in the future and we anticipate will lead to expanded margins.

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KEY PERFORMANCE METRICS

Orders backlog

We monitor our orders backlog, which we believe is a forward-looking indicator of potential sales. Our orders backlog for products includes all orders that have been received and are believed to be firm. Due to municipal government procurement rules, in certain cases orders included in backlog are subject to budget appropriation or other contract cancellation clauses. Consequently, our orders backlog may differ from actual future sales. Orders backlog can be helpful to investors in evaluating the performance of our business and identify trends over time.

The following table presents our orders backlog as of the periods indicated: