Investor Converts $750,000 Bridge Loan To Equity In Global Digital
Solutions, Inc.
PALM BEACH, Fla., May 22, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Global Digital
Solutions, Inc. (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 the $750,000 bridge loan it received from an
investor, which it is using to provide debtor-in-possession
financing to Airtronic USA, Inc.
("Airtronic"), is to be converted into GDSI common stock.
"Today's announcement signals growing confidence in GDSI's
expanding leadership team and strategic direction," said
Richard J. Sullivan, the company's
largest shareholder who will become Chairman and CEO after the
acquisition with Airtronic is completed. "We've been adding
key executives and advisers recently including former Florida Lt.
Governor Jennifer Carroll,
Edwin Wang and Matthew Kelley. The Airtronic team, under the
leadership of the company's President and CEO, Dr. Merriellyn Kett,
is top-notch. So it is a real vote of confidence to have the
$750,000 bridge loan converted to
equity. It shows that we are moving in the right
direction."
On April 24, 2013, the company
announced that Florida's former
Lt. Governor Jennifer Carroll had
joined GDSI as a senior adviser and that she was expected to become
the company's President and Chief Operating Officer after the
completion of the planned merger with Airtronic.
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. Dr. Merriellyn Kett,
Airtronic's President and CEO, is expected to continue serving as
CEO of Airtronic once the merger between GDSI and Airtronic is
finalized.
More About Jennifer Carroll
Florida's 18th Lt.
Governor, Jennifer Carroll was the
state's first female elected as Lt. Governor and its first
African-American elected statewide. As Lt. Governor from 2011 to
2013, Carroll oversaw the Florida Department of Military Affairs,
the Florida Department of Veterans Affairs, and was Chairperson of
Space Florida. Born in Port of Spain,
Trinidad West Indies, Jennifer
Carroll immigrated to the United
States as a young child. After enlisting in the United States Navy in 1979, Carroll served
her adopted nation honorably and with distinction, rising from the
rank of jet mechanic E-1 to retire as a Lieutenant Commander,
Aviation Maintenance Officer. During her 20-year Navy career she
was awarded numerous awards, including a Meritorious Service Medal,
two Navy Commendation Medals, two Navy Achievement Medals, a
National Defense Service Medal, and an Expert Pistol Medal. As a
Florida state legislator, Carroll
served as Deputy Majority Leader from 2003-2004, Majority Whip from
2004-2006, Chair of the Finance Committee from 2006-2008, and Chair
of the Economic and Development Council from 2008-2010. Carroll
holds an MBA degree from St. Leo
University.
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.
More About Richard J. Sullivan
Dick Sullivan is an
entrepreneurial pioneer. In 2001, Sullivan received the prestigious
World Economic Forum's "Award for Advanced Chip Technology"
presented in Davos, Switzerland.
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.
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
info@gdsi.co
Richard J. Sullivan
916-535-1713
info@gdsi.co
SOURCE Global Digital Solutions, Inc.