FOLSOM,
Calif., Aug. 20, 2012
/PRNewswire/ -- Global Digital Solutions
(PINKSHEETS:GDSI),a company that is positioning itself as a
leader in providing knowledge-based and culturally attuned social
consulting and security-related solutions in unsettled areas, today
announced that the company has signed an exclusive letter of intent
to acquire Illinois-based
Airtronic USA, Inc. ("Airtronic"),
The companies have agreed, on an exclusive
basis, to enter into good faith discussions involving a potential
strategic combination in which Airtronic would be acquired by
GDSI. If the acquisition is completed as
expected, Airtronic will continue to operate as a subsidiary of
GDSI.
The exclusive agreement is subject to the completion of
due diligence reviews by both companies and certain other
conditions, including agreement by the United States Bankruptcy
Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division.
Airtronic is currently a "debtor" under Chapter 11 of the
Bankruptcy Code.
"This proposed strategic acquisition is extremely exciting
for both GDSI and Airtronic," said GDSI founder and largest
shareholder Richard J. Sullivan, who
will become non-executive chairman of GDSI after the acquisition is
completed. "I'm looking forward to finalizing
all necessary approvals and working with Dr. Merriellyn Kett and
the entire Airtronic team going forward.
Airtronic has a great track record of manufacturing essential
battlefield weapons for the United
States and our allies and is well-connected with key
agencies in the U.S. and around the world.
Working together, I believe GDSI and Airtronic will be a very
powerful combination that fits perfectly into GDSI's evolving
strategy to become a leader in knowledge-based consulting and
security-related solutions in unsettled, complex areas."
Merriellyn Kett, PhD, Airtronic's CEO and President,
joined the company in 2003 as a partner and helped to refocus the
business on several essential battlefield weapons, including the
M203 40mm Grenade Launcher – one of the most widely used grenade
launchers in the world – the .50 cal. Machine Gun, the MK 19
Grenade Machine Gun, and most recently the MK 777, a shoulder-fired
recoilless rifle that is light, lethal, and affordable.
Airtronic is a member of the National Small Arms
Technology Consortium (NSATC) and the largest woman-owned small
arms manufacturing company in the United
States. The company has received
commendations from the US Army Tank, Armaments, and Automotive
Command and the Defense Logistics Agency for the quality and
on-time delivery of its products.
Dr. Kett, who has a PhD in analytic philosophy, also
commented on the planned acquisition. "I believe
very strongly that Airtronic has enormous growth potential and that
we provide critically important small arms for the U.S. military
and allied militaries. I look forward to
finalizing this agreement and continuing to provide strong
leadership for Airtronic in the years ahead."
Once the acquisition is finalized, Dr. Kett is expected to continue
serving as CEO of Airtronic.
More About Richard J. Sullivan
Dick Sullivan is an
entrepreneurial pioneer. He served as Chairman
and CEO of Applied Digital Solutions, where he executed a
technology rollup involving 42 acquisitions that succeeded in
increasing the company's share price from $2.50 to a peak of $18 per share. During Sullivan's decade-long
tenure as Chairman and CEO, Applied Digital was one of the highest
volume traded stocks on NASDAQ. Sullivan also
served as Chairman and CEO of Digital Angel Corporation and led the
effort to spin off VeriChip Corporation. In
1970, he was a founding member of the management team of
Manufacturing Data Systems, Inc., which listed at $7.50 per share and was sold to Schlumberger N.V.
in 1980 at $65 per share.
More About Merriellyn Kett, PhD
Dr. Kett received her doctorate in analytic philosophy
from DePaul University in Chicago, IL, and spent a year studying at the
Sorbonne in Paris,
France. Before joining Airtronic in 2003,
she worked in infrastructure development in China, building a metallurgical coking plant
in Shanxi
Province.
About Global Digital Solutions, Inc.
Global Digital Solutions is refocusing its business
strategy on providing knowledge-based and culturally attuned
societal consulting and security-related solutions in unsettled
areas. For more information please visit
http://www.gdsi.co.
About Airtronic USA,
Inc.
Airtronic is an electro-mechanical engineering design and
manufacturing company. It provides small arms and small arms spare
parts to the U.S. Department of Defense, foreign militaries, and
the law enforcement market. The company also
manufactures medical, avionics, and telecommunications original
equipment. The company's products include grenade launchers, rocket
propelled grenade launchers, grenade launcher guns, flex machine
guns, grenade machine guns, rifles, and magazines. The company was
founded in 1990 and is based in Elk Grove
Village, Illinois. On May 16,
2012, the voluntary petition of Airtronic, Inc. for
liquidation under Chapter 7 was converted to Chapter 11
reorganization. The company had filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy on
March 13, 2012. For more information,
please visit www.Airtronic.net.
Statements about the company's expectations, including revenue
and earnings and all other statements in this press release, other
than historical facts, are "forward looking" statements and are
made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward looking
statements involve risks and uncertainties and are subject to
change at any time. The company's actual results could differ
materially from expected results. In reflecting subsequent events
or circumstances, the company undertakes no obligation to update
forward looking statements.
Contact:
W.J. Delgado
916-838-8833
916-535-1713
info@gdsi.co
Richard J. Sullivan
916-535-1713
SOURCE Global Digital Solutions, Inc.