BAE Systems recently said it has agreed to sell its Safariland business unit that makes products for law enforcement customers in the United States and globally to Kanders & Co., a security consulting firm led by Warren Kanders, the former CEO of Armor Holdings, which BAE acquired in 2007.
The deal price for Safariland is $114 million. The transaction is expected to close in either the second or third quarter of this year pending regulatory approvals.
Safariland was part of Armor Holdings, which was best known for its business that up-armored Humvees for the U.S. military and later acquired Army truck manufacturer Stewart & Stevenson. But the company also had an extensive product portfolio in accessories and body armor for military and law enforcement customers.
Safariland is based in California and has 1,700 employees at four locations in the United States and one in Mexico. The company produces and sells tactical body armor, less lethal products and munitions, holsters and other duty gear.
For BAE Systems, the planned divestiture is in line with its focus on core markets.
“This proposed sale is another step in our ongoing plan to streamline our organization and further align the business portfolio with our strategy,” Frank Pope, president of the Land & Armaments Sector of BAE Systems, Inc., said in a statement. BAE Systems, Inc., is the U.S.-based division of BAE.
If the acquisition of Safariland goes through, it will be the second time Kanders has bought back a former business unit of Armor Holdings from BAE. In 2008, Kanders’ firm purchased Gregory Mountain Products, which makes technical gear for hardcore outdoor enthusiasts, in particular mountain climbers, from BAE.
When Armor Holdings owned Gregory Mountain, it leveraged the company’s expertise in supplying backpack frames that shifted the weight from a person’s back onto their hips to begin selling the equipment to U.S. Special Forces.
Gregory Mountain has since merged with Black Diamond, Inc. [BDE], a provider of gear for mountain climbers and skiers that is also controlled by Kanders.
Kanders said in an interview that the tactical products market for law enforcement customers is a growth market. Safariland’s customers include state and local police departments, the FBI and international customers.
The pending deal for Safariland would be Kanders’ first acquisition of a security-related company since the sale of Armor Holdings. Asked if the acquisition is the first of others to rebuild a multi-company security portfolio, Kanders said “nothing is a one off” but that for now the deal will “reunite” him with the business he began with.
“It’s back to the future for me and I have some unfinished business,” Kanders said.