AYDIN CORPORATION Sells Displays Division, Pays Off Debt To Lockheed Martin Corporation.HORSHAM, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 19, 1998-- Company Also Announces Authorization of Stock Repurchase Stock repurchase A firm's repurchase of outstanding shares of its common stock. Program AYDIN CORPORATION (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange : AYD AYD Advancing Youth Development AYD American Youth for Democracy ) announced today that it has sold its Displays Division to Video Display Corporation. The Company had previously signed a letter of intent to sell the Displays Division to H.I.G. Capital Management, and H.I.G. assigned its rights to Video Display Corporation. A portion of the sales proceeds has been applied to satisfy in full all remaining obligations of the Company to Lockheed Martin For the former company, see . Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) is a leading multinational aerospace manufacturer and advanced technology company formed in 1995 by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta. Corporation arising out of the arbitration award An arbitration award (or arbitral award) is a determination on the merits by an arbitration tribunal in an arbitration, and is analogous to a judgment in a court of law. earlier this year. The Displays Division was sold for $6.4 million in cash, plus the assumption of certain liabilities related to the Displays Division, including accounts payable. The Company does not anticipate any material fourth quarter financial impact from the sale, as the Displays Division was accounted for as a discontinued operation discontinued operation A segment of a business that has been abandoned or sold or for which plans for one or another of these actions have been approved. See also continuing operations. in the Company's third quarter results announced on November 10, 1998. In conjunction with the completion of the sale of the Displays Division and the satisfaction of the remaining debt to Lockheed Martin, the Company's Board of Directors approved the repurchase by the Company of up to 250,000 of the 5.2 million outstanding shares of the Company's Common Stock. Repurchases may be made from time to time on the open market or in privately negotiated transactions. Repurchases will be funded by the Company out of cash flow from operations Cash flow from operations A firm's net cash inflow resulting directly from its regular operations (disregarding extraordinary items such as the sale of fixed assets or transaction costs associated with issuing securities), calculated as the sum of net income plus noncash expenses . Warren Lichtenstein, Chairman of the Board, commented, "The sale of the Displays Division puts the Company in a solid position to move forward profitably and aggressively, and to focus on serving our customers without distraction. We have paid off our debt to Lockheed Martin and eliminated an operation which has had a negative effect on our earnings in recent quarters. The stock repurchase authorization announced today evidences the Board's confidence regarding the Company's prospects and its commitment to enhancing shareholder value. To that end, we continue to work with PricewaterhouseCoopers Securities exploring strategic alternatives." AYDIN is a world-class provider of products and systems for the acquisition and distribution of information over electronic communications media. The Company designs, engineers, manufactures, markets, distributes and installs technologically advanced communications products and systems, from basic components to turnkey systems for military, space, government and commercial organizations around the world. Statements made in this press release relating to earnings prospects and the financial impact of the sale of the Displays Division are forward-looking and are made pursuant to the safe harbor Safe Harbor 1. A legal provision to reduce or eliminate liability as long as good faith is demonstrated. 2. A form of shark repellent implemented by a target company acquiring a business that is so poorly regulated that the target itself is less attractive. provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (PSLRA) implemented several significant substantive changes affecting certain cases brought under the federal securities laws, including changes related to pleading, discovery, liability, class representation and awards fees and of 1995. Investors are cautioned that these forward-looking statements reflect numerous assumptions and involve risks and uncertainties which may affect AYDIN's business and prospects and cause actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements, including loss of current customers, reductions in orders from current customers, or delays in ordering by current customers, failure to obtain anticipated contracts or orders from new customers, or expected volume from such customers, higher material or labor costs, unfavorable results in litigation An action brought in court to enforce a particular right. The act or process of bringing a lawsuit in and of itself; a judicial contest; any dispute. When a person begins a civil lawsuit, the person enters into a process called litigation. against AYDIN, the availability of adequate sources of working capital and cash flow, and economic, competitive, technological, governmental, and other factors discussed in AYDIN's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. |
|
||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion