PALM BEACH, Fla., May 30, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Global Digital
Solutions (OTC PINK: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 Airtronic USA
("Airtronic") has received the first in what is expected to be a
series of contracts involving the company's core business
products.
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.
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.
"This is a substantial contract that is expected to be followed
by similar contracts in the future," said GDSI founder and largest
shareholder Richard J. Sullivan, who
will become Chairman and CEO after the acquisition with Airtronic
is completed. "I was delighted when Merriellyn Kett,
Airtronic's President and CEO, shared this positive news with
me. This contract confirms what we've known all along – that
Airtronic has a strong track record of meeting critical customer
needs for quality weapons-related products. I congratulate
Merriellyn and the entire Airtronic team on this exciting
development."
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