PALM BEACH, Fla., March 11, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Global Digital
Solutions, Inc. (OTC-QB: GDSI), a company that is positioning
itself as a leader in providing cyber arms manufacturing,
complementary security and technology solutions and
knowledge-based, cyber-related, culturally attuned social
consulting in unsettled areas, today filed a Form 8-K with the
Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") providing information
regarding three proposed transactions, including an unsolicited
letter of intent to acquire Remington Outdoor Company, Inc., also
known as Freedom Group, Inc. ("Freedom"). GDSI has made an
unsolicited offer to purchase freedom for $1.082 billion in cash. Freedom has
estimated that its net sales for 2013 will be in the range of
$1.250 billion to $1.275 billion and
that its adjusted EBITDA will be in the range of $235 million to $240 million. The Form 8-K
may be accessed at www.sec.gov or on GDSI's website at
www.gdsi.co.
Richard J. Sullivan, GDSI's
Chairman and CEO, offered several reasons for optimism regarding
the proposed acquisitions discussed in the Form 8-K filing and the
company's overall strategy for profitable growth going forward:
"The GDSI team is extremely excited and confident about all
three of these proposed acquisitions. There are powerful
synergies between Freedom and the two other companies that will
fuel our future growth along with the transformation of the cyber
arms industry. Cyber-based technologies, coupled with
enhanced digital product development and distribution, will be key
factors in achieving results that could match – and probably even
exceed – what we were able to produce at Digital Angel Corp and
Applied Digital Solutions ("Applied"). At Applied, we saw our
market capitalization reach $2.5
billion, roughly five times revenue and nearly 25 times
EBITDA.
"Results like these truly represent the baseline of our
expectations going forward. As discussed previously, we
plan to follow a similar acquisition strategy to the one we
successfully pursued at Applied. Under my leadership at
Applied, the GDSI team successfully executed a private-to-public
company roll-up totaling some 42 acquisitions and growing annual
revenue from $1 million to
$350 million over five
years.
"This model, which takes advantage of market trends,
technological advances and industry consolidations to fuel
profitable growth, presents a value proposition that is perfectly
suited to the military armament industry, an industry that is
heavily fragmented and evolving rapidly toward a RFID/WiFi-enabled
technology platform. In this dynamic environment, we see
enormous opportunity to consolidate this market with a program of
targeted acquisitions, including the proposed Freedom
transaction. Technological convergence is the future in the
cyber/smart arms arena and we're eager to leverage our proven
history of success by helping Freedom and others navigate the
transition from analog to digital.
"Our team plans to drive unprecedented consolidation and
convergence in the cyber arms arena at least in part through the
acquisition strategy outlined in our Form 8-K filing and
elsewhere. We'll also do this by leveraging technologies like
GDSI Gatekeeper, which we announced on January 23, 2014. Gatekeeper represents a
revolutionary suite of technology-enhanced services that offer
personalized, digital small arms safety and security solutions in
commercial and military-related markets.
"The bottom line is: Our excitement and confidence derive
from the fact that we've done this before and we see enormous
potential that we'll be able to do it again."
As described in the Form 8-K, GDSI has also entered into
non-binding letters of intent relating to the proposed acquisitions
of two privately held, U.S.-based companies. One involves a
technology and development services firm with annual revenue of
approximately $25 million. The
other is a military and law enforcement supply and distribution
company with annual revenue of approximately $30 million.
All three proposed acquisitions are subject to completion of
due diligence, completion of satisfactory acquisition agreements
and other customary conditions, including financing.
The Form 8-K also provides an update regarding GDSI's
transactions with Airtronic USA,
Inc.
More About Richard J. Sullivan and Applied Digital Solutions,
Inc.
Dick Sullivan is an
entrepreneurial pioneer. 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. In 2001, Sullivan received the
prestigious World Economic Forum's "Award for Advanced Chip
Technology" presented in Davos,
Switzerland. During Sullivan's decade-long tenure as
Chairman and CEO, Applied was recognized as one of the country's
fastest-growing technology companies, regularly topping the NASDAQ
in trading volume. The company's stock price rose sharply from
$2.50 to $18.00 per share, reaching a peak market
capitalization of approximately $2.5
billion. The company spawned two more successful public
companies – Digital Angel Corporation and Verichip.
Continuous R&D at Applied, fueled by a series of high-tech
acquisitions and steady corporate profits, yielded very impressive
results, including:
- The first-ever FDA-approved, human-implantable RFID tags that
continue to be used by several foreign militaries;
- The first proof-of-concept implanted GPS-wireless tracking
device which was successfully implanted in a sheep in 2002;
and
- The first-of-their-kind GPS-wireless tracking devices still
sold to and used by probation and corrections offices around the
country.
In addition, Applied was the subject of two Harvard Business School case studies that are still
being used in the curriculum. The first followed the
company's efforts to build a marketing plan for its Digital Angel
GPS/wireless personal security device. The second study followed
the successful merger of Digital Angel Corporation and Outerlink
Corporation.
About Remington Outdoor Company, Inc. (Freedom Group,
Inc.)
Freedom describes itself as the world's leading innovator,
designer, manufacturer and marketer of firearms, ammunition and
related products for the hunting, shooting sports, law enforcement
and military markets. It indicates that, as one of the largest
manufacturers in the world of firearms and ammunition, it has some
of the most globally recognized brands including Remington®,
Bushmaster® Firearms, DPMS/Panther Arms™, Marlin®, H&R®, The
Parker Gun™, Mountain Khakis®, Advanced Armament Corp.®, Dakota
Arms®, Para™ USA and Barnes®
Bullets. Additional information about Freedom is available by
visiting www.freedom-group.com.
About Global Digital Solutions, Inc.
Global Digital Solutions is positioning itself as a leader in
providing cyber arms manufacturing, complementary security and
technology solutions and knowledge-based, cyber-related, culturally
attuned social consulting in unsettled areas. For more
information please visit http://www.gdsi.co.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains "forward looking statements" within
the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The statements contained in this
press release that are not purely historical are forward-looking
statements. Forward-looking statements give the Company's current
expectations or forecasts of future events. Such statements are
subject to risks and uncertainties that are often difficult to
predict and beyond the Company's control, and could cause the
Company's results to differ materially from those described.
In some cases forward-looking statements can be identified by
terminology such as "may," "should," "potential," "continue,"
"expects," "anticipates," "intends," "plans," "believes,"
"estimates," and similar expressions. These statements include
statements regarding moving forward with executing the Company's
global growth strategy. The statements are based upon current
beliefs, expectations and assumptions and are subject to a number
of risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict.
The Company is providing this information as of the date of this
press release and does not undertake any obligation to update any
forward looking statements contained in this press release as a
result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as
required by law. We have based these forward looking
statements largely on our current expectations and projections
about future events and financial trends affecting the financial
condition of our business. Forward looking statements should
not be read as a guarantee of future performance or results, and
will not necessarily be accurate indications of the times at, or
by, which such performance or results will be achieved.
Important factors that could cause such differences include, but
are not limited to the Risk Factors and other information set forth
in the Company's Registration Statement on Form 10 filed on
October 7, 2013, and in our other
filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Contact:
Richard J. Sullivan
561-515-6163
info@gdsi.co
SOURCE Global Digital Solutions, Inc.