by Joseph P. Tartaro
Executive Editor
Alliant Techsystems Inc. (ATK) announced on April 29 that it will be merging its defense and aerospace divisions with satellite manufacturer Orbital Sciences, while its popular sporting division will be spun off as its own separate entity.
ATK Sporting Group is a giant in the ammunition industry, owning brands such as Federal Premium, CCI, Speer Ammo, and Blazer. Other brands listed under the ATK Sporting Group include rifle-maker Savage Arms, optics manufacturer Bushnell, BLACKHAWK!, and Hoppe’s. Upon completion of the $4.5 billion merger, ATK will change its name to Orbital ATK, according to OutdoorHub.com. Bushnell, in turn, also owns a number of other well known brands in the outdoor marketplace, including Uncle Mike’s, Weaver, Tasco, Butler Creek and Champion targets.
“We are creating two strong, standalone companies committed to sustained leadership and success in their markets,” said Mark W. DeYoung, president and CEO of ATK. “ATK’s Board of Directors and management team continuously evaluate opportunities to best position the company to drive value for its shareholders.
DeYoung will take over as CEO of ATK Sporting Group following the merger, while current Orbital CEO David Thompson will become the new chief executive officer of the combined Orbital ATK. Current ATK shareholders will own about 53.8% of the new company while Orbital shareholders will own 46.2%.
According to DeYoung, the division came about because the aerospace and defense side of the company operated in a fundamentally different market from its sporting division. As a stand-alone company, the Sporting Group will have greater flexibility in pursuing its own goals independent of Orbital ATK. With decreased government spending on space and defense, ATK’s sporting division has become one of the most profitable for the company, bringing in $2.2 billion in revenue at the end of last year. According to Cowen & Co. analyst Gautam Khanna, the unit could easily become a $3 billion business in its own right.
“Sporting continues to deliver excellent performance,” said DeYoung. “Results from our recently completed fourth quarter demonstrated continued revenue and earnings growth, and margin expansion.”
The transaction is expected to close by the end of calendar year 2014. Orbital ATK will remain in Virginia while the sporting division is expected to move to Utah. ATK did not go into detail on what jobs may be eliminated, moved, or added but did say that the new combined company will employ 13,000 workers in 17 states. The Sporting Group will employ 5,800 across 11 states.
Just days after the restructuring announcement, ATK reported that it had won a five-year fixed-price, indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract with the US Army for the production of Mk248 Mod 0, 190-grain and Mk248 Mod 1, 220-grain 300 Win. Mag. rifle ammunition with an estimated maximum value of $20 million. The Army selected this ammunition for primary use in its M2010 Sniper rifle.
The ammunition will be manufactured at ATK’s Anoka, MN, Federal Premium Ammunition factory.
In other government contract news, TenCate Advanced Armor in Newark, OH, has been selected by General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems, the prime contractor for the US Army Special Operations Command (SOCOM) Ground Mobility Vehicle, to provide the GMV 1.1 armor solution. This order has a value of about $30 million.
The Pentagon awarded General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems a $562 million contract for the Ground Mobility Vehicle (GMV 1.1). SOCOM plans to purchase up to 1,300 GMVs over the next 6 years to replace SOCOM’s current fleet of specialized High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWVs).
The National Shooting Sports Foundation honored US Rep. Bob Latta (R-OH) as NSSF’s 2013 Legislator of the Year at the firearms trade association’s recent annual dinner in Washington, DC, preceding the firearms industry’s annual Congressional Fly-In.
“We salute Congressman Latta for his outstanding leadership in the US House of Representatives as Co-Chair of the bipartisan Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus (CSC), and are honored to present him with 2013 NSSF’s Legislator of the Year Award,” said Lawrence G. Keane, NSSF senior vice president and general counsel. “Congressman Latta was instrumental in the CSC’s introduction last fall of the Sportsmen’s Heritage and Recreational Enhancement (SHARE) Act. This package of pro-sportsmen’s legislation will safeguard and promote America’s hunting and fishing traditions and will garner wide support from both sides of the political aisle.”
A record breaking sum of $100,000 was raised by The NRA Foundation’s auction of a well worn Henry leveraction rifle from 1865, serial number 8261, paired with the serial number of one of the new Original Henry Rifles, both donated by Henry Repeating Arms to benefit The NRA Foundation The auction was hosted by GunBroker.com and concluded at the end of the 2014 NRA National Meeting in Indianapolis, IN. The two-gun set yielded $83,025 at auction and Henry Repeating Arms contributed an additional $16,975 to round it off to $100,000 to benefit the NRA.
Other recent auctions of the new Original Henry Rifle yielded $85,000 for the USA Olympic Shooting Team and $50,825 for the Hunting Heritage Foundation.
