Land Owner
04-29-2014, 08:02 PM
DULLES, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Apr. 29, 2014--
Orbital Sciences Corporation (NYSE:ORB) today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement with Alliant Techsystems Inc. (NYSE:ATK), which will combine Orbital and ATK’s Aerospace and Defense (A&D) Groups to create a $4.5 billion (combined calendar year 2013 annual revenue), 13,000-person space, defense and aviation systems developer and manufacturer. The new company, to be called Orbital ATK, Inc., will serve U.S. and international customers with leading positions in the markets for space launch vehicles and propulsion systems, tactical missiles and defense electronics, satellites and space systems, armament systems and ammunition, and commercial and military aircraft structures and related components. As part of the transaction, ATK will spin off its Sporting Group, which focuses on commercial sporting equipment, to its shareholders.
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In the merger, ATK shareholders will own approximately 53.8% of the equity of the combined company and Orbital shareholders will own approximately 46.2%. The combination, which has been unanimously approved by the Boards of both companies, is to be effected in a tax-free “Morris Trust” transaction structure, with a spin-off of ATK’s Sporting Group to its shareholders immediately prior to the merger. The merger is conditioned on approval by the shareholders of both companies, the receipt of regulatory approvals, and other customary closing conditions. The transaction is expected to close by the end of 2014.
http://spaceref.biz/company/the-merger-of-equals---orbital-and-atk-aerospace-and-defense-groups.html
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This affects the following Sporting Companies:
Accessories
Bushnell, BLACKHAWK!, Eagle, Alliant Powder, RCBS, Champion Target, Final Approach, Gunslick Pro, Primos, Bollé, Outers, Hoppe’s, Uncle Mike’s, Butler Creek and Weaver Optics.
Ammunition
Federal Premium, CCI, Fusion, Speer Ammo, Speer Bullets, Estate Cartridge and Blazer.
Firearms
Savage Arms
Artful
04-30-2014, 01:45 AM
http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/blog/fedbiz_daily/2014/04/orbital-sciences-and-alliant-techsystems-to-merge.html
Hunting and rockets don't have much in common. That's why Alliant Techsystems Inc. is separating the two.
Alliant, colloquially known as ATK, plans to spin off its just recently bulked up outdoor sporting business to its shareholders, and then merge its aerospace and defense operations with Orbital Sciences Corp.
The transaction between ATK (NYSE: ATK) and Orbital (NYSE: ORB) will create a new company, Orbital ATK, Inc. Current ATK shareholders will own approximately 53.8 percent of Orbital ATK on a fully diluted basis and current Orbital shareholders will own approximately 46.2 percent. Approximately $1.7 billion of existing ATK debt will remain at Orbital ATK, both companies announced Tuesday.
Mark DeYoung, current president and chief executive officer of ATK, will serve as the chairman and chief executive officer of the new sporting division, which will be headquartered in Utah and is expected to employ nearly 5,800 workers in 11 states and worldwide. A name and brand for the outdoor sporting operation has not yet been determined.
David Thompson, Orbital’s current chairman, president and chief executive officer will serve as president and chief executive officer of Orbital ATK, which will be headquartered in Dulles, where Orbital is currently located, and is expected to have approximately 13,000 employees across 17 states.
http://www.startribune.com/business/257162051.html
After shouldering years of government spending cuts, Alliant Techsystems Inc. announced Tuesday that it will merge its defense and aerospace business with Virginia-based Orbital Sciences and spin off its sporting ammunition unit into a separate company.
The news prompted Alliant’s stock to shoot up 8 percent in early trading Tuesday, while Orbital’s stock jumped 16 percent. Wall Street analysts praised the deal as a creative, smart approach to combat the government’s increasingly tight defense spending. While investors welcomed the news, employees worried that the move, expected to close later this year, could result in job cuts in the Eden Prairie office of Alliant Techsystems, also known as ATK.
Alliant spokeswoman Amanda Covington would say only that the Eden Prairie site will become part of the newly merged Orbital ATK and that transition planning has not begun. The site has about 200 positions that include financing, IT, legal, financing and other functions. Eden Prairie was Alliant’s headquarters until 2011, when the company moved corporate headquarters to Arlington, Va., to be closer to congressional and Pentagon officials in Washington, D.C.
The newly merged Orbital ATK will be run out of Dulles, Va., and the sporting business will be spun off to Alliant shareholders and be run out of Utah. Boards for both companies approved the pending split and merger.
Shareholders of Alliant will own 53.8 percent of the new Orbital ATK company. The combined firm that results from the all-stock deal will take on $1.7 billion of existing Alliant debt. All told, Orbital ATK will have $4.5 billion in annual revenue and $585 million in annual profits before taxes. The company expects $70 million to $100 million in cost-reduction synergies by 2016.
Officials said that the Alliant split-up came because the defense/space and sporting businesses operate in two fundamentally different markets with very different operating dynamics.
Analysts noted that Alliant has suffered in recent years as the U.S. government cut military spending and delayed contracts, which affected vendors of ammunition, missile and protective gear makers such as Alliant, and satellite and spacecraft makers like Orbital Sciences.
Both firms have been hurt by dramatic cutbacks in aerospace spending. For decades, Alliant made the rocket boosters that took space shuttles into orbit. The shuttle program, however, was suspended in 2011.
Alliant entered the sporting goods business in 2001 and has since grown it via several acquisitions and a surge in demand for police, hunting and civilian ammunition. The sporting group sells products under various brands including Federal Premium, Bushnell, Savage Arms, Blackhawk, Primos, Final Approach and more.
Including both sporting and military sales, Alliant is the world’s largest manufacturer of small-caliber ammunition. It has supplied ammunition to the U.S. government and its allies for decades. Going forward, hunting and civilian ammunition sales will be controlled by the spun-off sporting business.
For the fiscal year ended March 2013, Alliant’s sporting division generated roughly $1.16 billion in sales. That was 26 percent of Alliant’s total $4.36 billion in fiscal 2013 corporate sales. However, officials noted that for the full calendar year ending in December 2013, sporting generated $2.2 billion in sales and $361 million in profits.
The sporting unit’s rocket-like growth has captured the attention of Wall Street analysts. Barclays Capital analyst Carter Copeland recently boosted his forecast on Alliant, noting that “over time … the sporting group has made a more significant portion of the total company’s sales and earnings. … The last seven quarters the business has posted average organic growth on a year-over-year basis of 23 percent.”
Cowen & Co. analyst Gautam Khanna said in a research note to investors that management has expressed a willingness to expand the sporting division via more acquisitions. As a result, Khanna said, the unit could become a business valued at $3 billion to $3.6 billion.
Alliant’s current CEO and president, Mark DeYoung, told analysts Tuesday that the sporting business is expected to continue to grow after the spinoff. It is also expected to buy ammunition from the Lake City Army Ammunition Plant that Alliant currently operates for the U.S. Army. It will also buy gunpowder and components from New River Energetics.
Analysts speculated that the sporting business is also likely to continue operating the lucrative Federal Cartridge ammunition plant in Anoka. Company officials declined to comment, saying that post-spinoff planning has not yet begun.
While Alliant is contributing more than $3.2 billion to Orbital ATK’s estimated $4.5 billion in revenue, it appears that Orbital’s management will take two of the top leadership posts of the new entity that will have 13,000 workers and key locations in 17 states, including key operations in Minnesota, Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, Missouri, California, Arizona and Utah.
Officials announced Tuesday that Orbital CEO Dave Thompson will become CEO of the new entity. Orbital CFO Garrett Pierce will become CFO of the new entity. Alliant Senior Vice President Blake Larson will become chief operating officer.
DeYoung will become chairman and CEO of the stand-alone sporting entity.
http://seekingalpha.com/article/1112761-years-of-ammunition-sold-in-hours
Years Of Ammunition Sold In Hours
Jan. 15, 2013 11:29 AM ET | About: ATK, Includes: CAB, KKR
Disclosure: I have no positions in any stocks mentioned, but may initiate a long position in ATK, KKR, CAB over the next 72 hours. (More...)
We are in the middle of the largest run on weapons and ammo in recorded history. Go to a Walmart (WMT), Cabela's (CAB), or an Academy Sporting Goods (KKR) and you will see the shelves are rather lacking for ammunition. The selection is very sparse due to excessive demand. The question springs to mind: How can we profit from this?
With the recent rise in weapon and ammunition sales, ammunition manufacturer Alliant Techsystems Inc., (ATK) stands to increase its profits.
The company is broken into three parts: aerospace, defense and sporting. We will be examining the sporting group as a quick pick to see if further study is warranted. The sporting group is where all civilian ammo sales and accessories sales occur and accounts for 26% of ATK's revenue.
ATK produces ammunition under several brands such as: Federal Premium, Alliant Powder, RCBS, CCI, Fusion, Speer Ammo, Speer Bullets, Estate Cartridge and Blazer.
Alliant Techsystems also produces equipment for the reloading community. Reloading is where a consumer makes his or her own ammunition. It will save the consumer some money and increase the bullet accuracy but at the expense of the time it takes to assemble the ammo. With some ammo being very hard to find reloading may gain some traction with consumers who are hard-pressed to find the rounds they want. If you cannot buy it, make it via reloading.
http://www.wikinvest.com/stock/Alliant_Techsystems_%28ATK%29
Alliant Techsystems Inc. (NYSE: ATK) is major U.S. producer of advanced weapon and space systems. ATK was formed in 1990 as a spin off of Honeywell International's defense businesses. Headquartered in Edina, Minnesota, ATK currently has approximately 16,000 employees and operates in 24 states, producing defense products and weaponry, ammunition, and nonmilitary aerospace products such as components of satellites and space exploration vehicles.[1] The company's clients are varied and range from the U.S. government to commercial clients who purchase ATK's sporting ammunition.
Given ATK's reliance on the U.S. government's foreign policy, military spending significantly impacts its businesses. The Iraq War, for instance has led to 64% increase in ATK's profits over the last 4 years. Since ATK is also involved in providing nonmilitary-use ammunition for commercial sale, it is also affected by trends in the nonmilitary market, such as the trend towards "green" ammunition, which uses fewer heavy metals (e.g. lead). ATK's nonmilitary ammunition is purchased by law enforcement agencies across the country, as well as for consumer use in recreational hunting.
2009 has brought the end of major contracts for ATK Space Systems which has resulted in layoffs totaling approximately 850 employees in Utah. The major contracts ending include the Propulsion Replacement Program for the Air Force's Minuteman III and the Reusable Solid Rocket Motor (RSRM) for NASA's space shuttle program. Given the poor outlook for additional contracts, more layoffs are likely in 2010.
Company Overview
Alliant Techsystems is an aerospace and defense company with operations in 24 states, Puerto Rico, and internationally. ATK is a producer of military small-caliber ammunition for use in soldier-carried weapons, such as automatic and semi-automatic rifles, and machine guns. The Company is also the producer of medium-caliber ammunition used by crew-served weapons on armored vehicles and aircraft. ATK is one of the producers of military large-caliber ammunition used by tanks. In addition, the Company is the producer of ammunition for the sport enthusiast and law enforcement markets.
ATK is also manufactures solid rocket motors. The Company is the contractor of the first stage of NASA's next-generation family of launch vehicles, the Ares I and Ares V. The Company produces other large solid rocket motors used to launch, or help launch, a variety of strategic missiles, and launch vehicles for satellite insertions or deep-space scientific exploration, including the Trident II (D5) and Minuteman III, which provide strategic deterrence capability for the United States and its allies; missile intercept solid rocket motors for Ground-based missile defense and the SM-3 program, and Graphite Epoxy Motors for launch vehicles, such as the Delta II.[1]
The Company is a manufacturer of medium-caliber chain guns for use on a variety of land, sea and airborne platforms. It is also a provider of satellite and spacecraft components and subsystems and has established itself as a provider of tactical accessories for military, security, law enforcement and sport enthusiast markets. ATK is a provider of energetics and propellants for warheads and bomb-fill. It provides advanced missile warning sensors for a variety of aircraft; fuses for a variety of weapon systems and advanced barrier systems used by the United States Armed forces and its allies. Additional business lanes include special mission aircraft for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions, and advanced flares and decoys used for night operations and search and rescue missions. The Company also produces smaller solid rocket motors for tactical missiles such as the Hellfire and Maverick.[1]
Armament Systems[1]
Armament Systems develops and produces military ammunition and gun systems, commercial products, tactical systems and equipment, and propellant and energetic materials. It also operates the United States Army ammunition plants in Independence, Missouri and Radford, Virginia. The Company produces ammunition for the sport hunting/sport enthusiast market. Its additional brands include Fusion, and Estate Cartridge. The Company also produces ammunition for the law enforcement market. In addition to ammunition, the Company includes ATK's accessories product lines, such as reloading equipment, gun care products, targets and traps, rifle scopes and mounts, and binoculars. These products are marketed under a number of well-know brand names, including RCBS, Outers, Shooter's Ridge, Weaver Optics and Nitrex.
The Company operates the Radford Army Ammunition Plant in Radford, Virginia, where it provides TNT and develops and produces energetics and a variety of warheads and bomb fill, including nitrocellulose. It also manufactures propellants for tank ammunition and tactical rocket motors. Its products include the Guided Advanced Tactical Rocket System (GATR) and flexible energetic products. The group produces medium-caliber chain guns and manages medium-caliber ammunition design and orders. These gun systems are used on a variety of land vehicles, helicopters and naval vessels, including the Bradley Fighting Vehicle, the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle, Light Armored Vehicle and Apache helicopter. Its products include the Light Weight 25mm gun system and ammunition suite, the Palletized Autonomous Weapon System, and the M230LF gun system. The group provides tactical accessories to the armed forces and allies, special operations forces, law enforcement (both domestic and international) and sport enthusiasts.
Mission Systems[1]
Mission Systems operates across in large caliber direct fires, force protection, precision guided munitions, missiles, propulsion, missile defense, fuzes and warheads, composites, special mission aircraft, electronic warfare, military aircraft structures, commercial aircraft structures and launch structures. During the fiscal year ended March 31, 2010 (fiscal 2010), the Mission Systems consisted of more than 1,000 different programs for United States and allied armed forces, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and international governments.
The Company is a provider of composite aircraft components for military and commercial aircraft manufacturers. It provides composite wing skins and nacelles for the F-35 II Lightning, a fifth-generation fighter aircraft for the United States military and its allies. The Company is also under contract to produce composite stringers and frames for the Airbus A350 passenger jetliner. Its additional composite programs include containment cases for General Electric's GEnx engine which is used to power the Boeing 747-8 Cargo aircraft, and the Rolls Royce Trent XWB, which is used to power the A350 aircraft. overnment and international customers. These aircraft are equipped for advanced intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions, as well as search and rescue missions.
Space Systems[1]
Space Systems produces rocket motor systems for human and cargo launch vehicles, conventional and strategic missiles, missile defense interceptors, small and micro-satellites, satellite components, structures and subsystems, lightweight space deployables and solar arrays, and provides engineering and technical services. Its other products include ordnance, such as decoy and illuminating flares.
The Company is the production home for the Company's four-segment reusable solid rocket motors for the Space Shuttle program and five-segment solid rocket motors under development for NASA's next-generation launch vehicles, the Ares I and Ares V. In addition, the Space Systems group produces a launch abort system (LAS) motor for the Orion crew capsule that was designed to safely pull the crew away from the launch vehicle in the event of an emergency during the launch. The Space Shuttle, Ares I/Ares V, and LAS programs accounted for approximately 14% of ATK's total revenue in fiscal 2010.
U.S. Foreign Policy Impacts Demand for Defense Products
The majority of ATK's sales, just under 80%, are to the U.S. government, with the U.S. Army comprising 29% and the U.S. Air Force making up 17% of Alliant Techsystems's sales. As such, ATK's success is heavily dependent on the government's continuing demand for defense systems and other military products. The Iraq War benefits ATK, as it boosts government spending on defense products and military equipment.
Eco-Friendly Trend Shifts Towards "Greener" Ammunition
The United States has generally seen a shift towards "greener," more environmentally-friendly policies, most notably the shift towards renewable energy and increased environmental legislation. The equivalent shift in commercial hunting is a movement towards cleaner ammunition, which contains less heavy metal content, and thus pollutes the natural environment less than lead bullets. As the top producer of civil ammunition, ATK has also been a leader in developing methods to produce useable, low-lead content ammunition.[3]
Higher Material Costs Cut Into ATK's Profit
Alliant Techsystems uses many different types of raw materials in manufacturing its products, including aluminum, steel, copper, lead, graphite fiber, and epoxy resins and adhesives.[4] The prices of these materials, especially copper, have risen significantly over the past several years, which increases ATK's costs of doing business. Since most of ATK's business comes from contracts, ATK is at risk of losing profits if commodity prices rise sharply.
Furthermore, for several of ATK's government contracts, the company is required to purchase its raw materials from sources approved by the U.S. Department of Defense.[5] This restricts ATK's freedom to shop around for cost-effective commodities, and can limit ATK's ability to adjust to rising materials prices.
While ATK is significantly smaller than its competitors, it seeks to gain a competitive advantage by focusing on its research and development programs, in order to improve existing products and develop new ones to meet clients' needs. ATK and its competitors are susceptible to many of the same risks, as they are all substantially influenced by the U.S.
Department of Defense budget and geopolitical factors.
In the civil ammunition and accessories market, ATK competes with:
General Dynamics (GD)
Winchester Ammunition, owned by Olin (OLN)
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