Global Digital Solutions' Planned Merger Partner, Airtronic USA,
Inc., Files Bankruptcy Reorganization Plan - Another Key Step In
Merger Process
PALM BEACH, Fla., June 13, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Global Digital
Solutions, Inc. (OTCPink: 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 its planned merger partner,
Airtronic USA, Inc. ("Airtronic"),
filed its chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization plan on June 10, 2013, with the United States Bankruptcy
Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division.
"The filing of this consensual Plan signals that the end is in
sight," said David Loppert, who will become GDSI's Chief Financial
Officer after the acquisition with Airtronic is completed.
"Upon confirmation, GDSI is expected to complete its acquisition of
Airtronic and Airtronic will emerge from chapter 11 as a debt-free
company with adequate working capital provided by GDSI. This
will enable Airtronic to once again compete at the highest levels
in its areas of expertise in small arms innovations."
On August 20, 2012, 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 on or about October
16, 2012. Dr. Merriellyn Kett, Airtronic's President
and CEO, will continue serving as CEO of Airtronic once the merger
between GDSI and Airtronic is finalized.
"This filing is a very important step for both companies," said
GDSI founder and largest shareholder Richard J. Sullivan, who will become Chairman
and CEO after the acquisition with Airtronic is completed.
"We hope this reorganization Plan will be confirmed by the
court in due course and we look forward to moving forward with the
completion of the merger process as quickly as possible."
Founded in 1990, Airtronic is a well-respected, award-winning
manufacturer of critical battlefield weapons. The company
provides small arms and small arms spare parts to the U.S.
Department of Defense, foreign militaries, and the law enforcement
market. The company's products include grenade launchers,
rocket propelled grenade launchers, grenade launcher guns, flex
machine guns, grenade machine guns, rifles, and magazines.
Airtronic is a member of the National Small Arms Technology
Consortium (NSATC) and the largest woman-owned small arms
manufacturing company in the United States. The company has
received commendations from the US Army Tank, Armaments, and
Automotive Command and the Defense Logistics Agency for the quality
and on-time delivery of its products.
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.
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.
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:
William J. Delgado
916-838-8833
info@gdsi.co
Richard J. Sullivan
916-535-1713
info@gdsi.co
SOURCE Global Digital Solutions, Inc.