Alliant Techsystems Inc. (ATK) announced that its board unanimously approved a plan to create two independent, public companies in outdoor sports and aerospace and defense.
ATK, based in Arlington, Va., operates a missile technology site near Elkton, Md.
“We are creating two strong, standalone companies committed to sustained leadership and success in their markets,” said Mark W. DeYoung, CEO of ATK.
The aerospace group will also merge with Orbital Sciences Corp. in the transaction.
“This merger-of-equals combination of Orbital and ATK brings together two of the space and defense industry’s most innovative developers and cost-efficient manufacturers who have worked closely together for over 25 years,” said David W. Thompson, Orbital’s CEO “By building on complementary technologies products and know-how and highly compatible cultures, Orbital ATK will deliver even more affordable space, defense and aerostructures systems to our existing customers and be well positioned to expand into adjacent markets.”
The company’s sporting and aerospace businesses operate in two different markets and stockholders prefer a company that is more tightly focused.
Over the past 10 years, ATK’s Sporting Group has delivered annual sales growth of approximately 16 percent (14 percent organic growth). It has also made a series of acquisitions.
ATK is the world’s top producer of solid rocket propulsion systems and a growing supplier of military and commercial aircraft structures and satellite systems. Following the completion of the transaction, Orbital ATK will have revenues of $4.5 billion.
