Saf-T-Hammer of Scottsdale, Arizona, announced the agreement Monday with Tomkins PLC, which has owned Springfield-based Smith & Wesson since 1987.

Under the agreement, Saf-T-Hammer assumes liability for the numerous lawsuits filed against Smith & Wesson over gun deaths.

"That is reflected in the price," said Michael Blogg, an analyst at the London brokerage Charterhouse Securities. Tomkins paid $112.5 million for privately held Smith & Wesson 14 years ago.

Mitchell Saltz, Saf-T-Hammer founder and chief executive, said the entire $15 million purchase is being funded by a private investor. The investor will be identified when the company files paperwork with the Security and Exchange Commission.

Smith & Wesson is the nation's oldest and was once its largest handgun maker.

Saf-T-Hammer was founded in 1991 and has just five employees, Saltz said.

The trigger locks, cables and lock boxes that Saf-T-Hammer makes will be incorporated into Smith & Wesson's product line, Saltz said.

Last year, in an attempt to extricate itself from liability suits brought by 32 cities and other governments, Smith & Wesson signed an agreement with the Clinton administration to install safety locks on all its guns and adopt other safety features and marketing changes.

Gun rights supporters accused Smith & Wesson of selling out. Some vowed to boycott the company; Smith & Wesson's sales were cut roughly in half.