Armor consolidation
Whatever market segment a company is in, the most tempting deal is the one that will get you to #1. That's part of the motive behind an announced deal by Armor Holdings Inc. to buy Stewart & Stevenson Services, both American companies. The $755 million deal will make Armor Holdings the #1 defense contractor for the Army's armored vehicle fleet. It's another example of the steadily shrinking number of defense contractors.
Stewart & Stevenson Services is a 104-year old company that now supplies military trucks, so-called "medium tactical vehicles". It had sales last year of $1.3 billion, while Armor Holdings had sales of $1.6 billion. Stewart & Stevenson Services has been preparing for this sell out. It recently sold of its Engineered Products and Power Products businesses to a new company called Stewart & Stevenson LLC for $277 million. These divisions sell a variety of products for the agriculture, construction, and petroleum industries, among others.
Armor Holdings, like so many other companies we cover, has been an acquisition engine, though none of its purchases to date is quite as large at the Stewart & Stevenson deal. The company concentrates in two areas: military equipment, mostly armoring and infantry weapon parts, and municipal law and safety support, with police, fire, and rescue equipment. The original company was called American Body Armor and was founded in 1969.
Here's a list of Armor Holdings' acquisitions since 2001:
2005 Second Chance, a body armor manufacturer
2004 Blanchi International, a supplier of belts and holsters
2004 The Specialty Group, a maker of combat vests and helmets
2004 Kleen-Bore, a vendor of firearm cleaning kits
2004 ODV, a manufacturer of test kits for drugs
2003 Hatch Imports, a maker of riot gear
2003 Simula, a manufacturer of vehicle armor and safety systems
2003 911eP, a maker of warning lights
2002 Trasco Bremen, a maker of armored vehicles
2002 B-Square, a maker of gun mounts
2002 Foldable Products Group, a manufacturer of ladders for rescue and fire
2002 Evi-Paq, which makes evidence collection kits
2002 Speedfeed, a maker of gunstocks
2001 Identicator, a maker of fingerprint kits
2001 O'Gara-Hess & Eisenhardt, a leading maker of vehicle armor (now Centigon)
2001 Guardian Products, a maker of police equipment including pepper spray
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