BAE to shed its protective products business
Planned sale will streamline organization and more closely align portfolio with company strategy.
In a move to further consolidate its business units, BAE Systems has reached an agreement to sell its Safariland LLC business to a newly formed acquisition vehicle affiliated with security systems consultant Kanders & Company Inc., BAE announced today.
Financial terms of the deal were not reported.
“This proposed sale is another step in our ongoing plan to streamline our organization and further align the business portfolio with our strategy,” Frank Pope, president of BAE Systems’ Land & Armaments sector, said in the May 2 announcement.
“We believe that this sale is in the best interests of BAE Systems as well as the Safariland business,” he said.
Safariland, which has been part of BAE Systems since the 2007 acquisition of Armor Holdings, Inc., produces protective products for law enforcement and security customers worldwide.
The business employs approximately 1,700 people who work in the United States and Mexico at five locations: Ontario, Calif., Jacksonville, Fla., Pittsfield, Mass., Casper, Wyo. and Tijuana, Mexico.
The proposed sale is conditional, among other things, upon receiving certain regulatory approvals, and is expected to close during the second or third quarter of 2012.
BAE Systems Inc., of Arlington, Va., ranks No. 17 on Washington Technology’s 2011 Top 100 list of the largest federal government contractors.