PALM BEACH, Fla., Feb. 13, 2013 /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, announced today that its majority shareholder,
Richard J. Sullivan, provided
$300,000 in collateralized assets to
secure a $750,000 bridge loan that
will facilitate the planned merger with Airtronic USA ("Airtronic").
Sullivan described his $300,000
infusion as "a vote of confidence" in Airtronic and the company's
President and CEO, Dr. Merriellyn Kett.
Because Airtronic is currently a "debtor in possession" under
Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code, the $750,000 bridge loan from GDSI to Airtronic was
subject to approval from the United States Bankruptcy Court for the
Northern District of Illinois. Approval for the bridge loan
was granted on October 18,
2012.
On August 20, 2012, the GDSI and
Airtronic announced that they had signed a letter of intent to
enter into good faith discussions involving a potential strategic
combination in which Airtronic would be acquired by GDSI.
Having completed those good faith discussions, the companies signed
a merger agreement and reorganization plan on October 16, 2012. The agreement, which is
also subject to Bankruptcy Court approval, calls for Airtronic to
continue to operate as a subsidiary of GDSI.
"We're very excited that we have completed this critical phase
of the merger process between GDSI and Airtronic and we're looking
forward to completing the process as quickly as possible," said
Sullivan, who will become chairman and CEO of GDSI after the
acquisition is completed.
"It's important to note," Sullivan added, "that Airtronic
instituted a policy twelve years ago never to sell weapons to the
domestic U.S. commercial and/or retail market. And I applaud
Dr. Kett and her team for having the vision to embrace that
policy. Airtronic only supplies these weapons to the U.S.
military and designated militaries abroad. That's an
important distinction that will continue to be a vital part of
Airtronic's business model going forward."
Dr. Kett, Airtronic's CEO and President, also commented on the
bridge loan: "I'm very grateful to Dick Sullivan for his vote of confidence and I'm
delighted that we have taken this important step in the merger
process, which we believe will be very beneficial to both companies
and to our shareholders and customers."
Once the merger 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
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. 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. Founded in 1990, the
company 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.