Global Digital Solutions' Planned Merger Partner, Airtronic USA, Inc., Files Bankruptcy Reorganization Plan - Another Key Ste...

Global Digital Solutions' Planned Merger Partner, Airtronic USA, Inc., Files Bankruptcy Reorganization Plan - Another Key Step In Merger Process

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Global Digital Solutions' Planned Merger Partner, Airtronic USA, Inc., Files Bankruptcy Reorganization Plan - Another Key Step In Merger Process

If confirmed, the Plan will allow Airtronic - the largest woman-owned small arms manufacturer in the United States - to emerge from chapter 11 bankruptcy debt-free with adequate working capital

PR Newswire

PALM BEACH, Fla., June 13, 2013

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

[e-mail]

Richard J. Sullivan

916-535-1713

[e-mail]

SOURCE Global Digital Solutions, Inc.