ORIGINAL: uncle matt
No it's actually recent news. Talks ran thru Dec, Jan and into Feb. Then the ink was put on paper.
I don't think there's going to be any changes in the T/C stuff anywhere in the near future. The ProHunter is still new and hot and IMO things in the T/C line will stay right along with the PH. But S&W will benefit from T/Cs machining and tooling capabilities.
If SW is smart, they will let Greg Ritz keep right on doing his thing. The Encore and the Pro Hunter version of the same have been wildly popular, and are very well made guns. Hopefully SW will do with TC what Beretta did/does with Benelli.