01 Jun 10. On 19 January 2010, Chemring Group PLC announced that it had entered into a conditional agreementto acquire the entire issued stock capital of The Allied Defense Group, Inc., a US public company traded on the NYSE AMEX, for a cash consideration of $7.25 per share equating to $59m (£36m). On the same day as Chemring’s announcement, ADG received a subpoena from the US Department of Justice requesting that ADG produce documents relating to its dealings with foreign governments. ADG also became aware that day that an employee of its US subsidiary, Mecar USA, Inc., had been indicted by the DOJ for allegedly engaging in schemes to bribe foreign government officials to obtain and retain business. The unsealed indictment of this employee and the DOJ’s press release indicated that the alleged criminal conduct was on behalf of another US company unrelated to ADG or Mecar US. Over the last four months, ADG has been co-operating with the DOJ and has provided an initial response to the subpoena limited, with the agreement of the DOJ, to matters related to the indicted former employee of Mecar US. ADG has been providing regular updates to Chemring during this period. ADG and Chemring have now received feedback from the DOJ with respect to the DOJ’s subpoena. The DOJ has indicated that it will request additional documents from ADG and expand its review beyond matters related to the indicted former employee of Mecar US. In light of this feedback from the DOJ, the Chemring Board has concluded that it is presently unwilling to consummate the acquisition of ADG pursuant to the terms of the Merger Agreement. Chemring is now reviewing its options with regards to ADG, which may include a restructuring of the transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement. A further update will be provided in due course.
10 Jun 10. Textron Systems, a Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT – News) company, has acquired MillenWorks, an internationally recognized innovator in advanced mobility solutions for demanding on-road and off-road applications. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. The Tustin, CA-based company with expected 2010 revenues of about $28m will add strategic capabilities to Textron Marine & Land Systems, an operating unit of Textron Systems, in New Orleans, LA. The privately owned MillenWorks, which was founded by off-road racing legend Rod Millen, has designed and produced cutting-edge light tactical, unmanned ground,
armored and off-road vehicles and subsystems since 1980. MillenWorks continues to develop new solutions valuable in both military and commercial vehicles, including advanced suspension systems for manned and unmanned applications, hybrid solutions optimized for compact vehicle integration, and weight optimized vehicles. MillenWorks’ solutions scale from highly optimized component design, through advanced electromechanical subsystems, up to fully integrated vehicle systems.
“Year after year, MillenWorks has proven its ability to create high performance, mobile and safe vehicles. Behind MillenWorks’ success is a talented team that we look forward to having join our family as we deliver forward-looking but practical solutions that enable our customers to operate in the most demanding environments,” said Tom Walmsley, senior vice president and general manager of Textron Marine & Land Systems.
“Having partnered with Textron Marine & Land Systems in the past, we are confident that this is a good fit for our team. We will have the support needed to continue to increase the capabilities of many types of vehicles, deliver innovative solutions to our customers, and grow our business,” concluded Rod Millen, chief executive officer of MillenWorks. (Source: Google)