Alpha Centauri 2

Community => Recreation Commons => Destination: Alpha Centauri => Topic started by: Unorthodox on October 29, 2014, 06:26:15 pm

Title: Rocket explosion unlikely to hurt ATK-Orbital deal
Post by: Unorthodox on October 29, 2014, 06:26:15 pm

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/10/29/us-alliant-techsys-m-a-orbital-sciences-idUSKBN0II1TD20141029 (http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/10/29/us-alliant-techsys-m-a-orbital-sciences-idUSKBN0II1TD20141029)

Quote

Rocket explosion unlikely to hurt ATK-Orbital deal: source
Wed Oct 29, 2014 12:21pm EDT
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(Reuters) - The explosion of Orbital Sciences Corp's unmanned supply rocket upon liftoff is unlikely to unravel its deal to buy Alliant Techsystems Inc’s space and defense business, sources familiar with the situation said.

Orbital expected the transaction to remain on track, one source said on Wednesday, a day after Orbital’s 14-story Antares rocket exploded while on a supply mission to deliver cargo to the International Space Station.

Orbital's unmanned rocket was insured for around $40 million to $50 million of losses, insurance sources said. One source pinned the loss more specifically at $48 million.

A London spokesman for U.S. insurance broker Willis Group Holdings Plc confirmed that it was the broker for the insurance risk, but declined to comment on the insured loss.

Orbital’s next launch had been slated for April 2015 according to internal NASA's launch schedules.

"While significant, the event should not upset the Orbital-ATK combination," Jefferies analyst Howard Rubel wrote in a note.

An Orbital spokesman said the company would issue a statement shortly, but he declined to give details. Officials of Alliant, better known as ATK, could not be immediately reached for comment.

No one was hurt in the crash late on Tuesday, authorities said. The craft was carrying a Cygnus cargo shipment bound for the station, a $100 billion research laboratory owned and operated by 15 nations. It orbits about 260 miles (418 km) above Earth. The incident is the first accident since NASA turned to private operators for such missions.

Privately held SpaceX, the Hawthorne, California-based space transport company founded by Tesla Motors Inc CEO Elon Musk, competes with Orbital.


COMPLEX TRANSACTION

In April, Orbital and ATK struck a complicated deal that they touted as a $5 billion merger of equals. ATK, the world's largest maker of ammunition, would spin off its sporting gun and ammunition business to its shareholders and merge the rest with Orbital.

The combined company, called Orbital ATK, is to be owned 53.8 percent by ATK shareholders and 46.2 percent by Orbital shareholders, with Orbital’s management expected to run the company. Orbital Chief Executive Dave Thompson will be the new company’s CEO, with nine of 16 directors from the Orbital side.

A review of the merger agreement shows under certain circumstances, ATK or Orbital may be have to pay the other party a termination fee of $50 million and expense reimbursement of up to $10 million.

ATK said late on Tuesday that it would seek shareholder approval on Dec. 9 for issuance of shares to Orbital stockholders. The deal is expected to close later this year.

On Wednesday, ATK said it "is conducting a thorough evaluation of any potential implications resulting from this incident, including current operating plans, long-term strategies, and the proposed transaction to merge the company's Aerospace and Defense businesses with Orbital."


(Reporting by Sagarika Jaisinghani in Bangalore and Mike Stone in New York and Irene Klotz in Cape Canaveral, FL; Editing by Kirti Pandey and David Gregorio)

Hm.  No loss, just a big fireworks show...

Title: Re: Rocket explosion unlikely to hurt ATK-Orbital deal
Post by: Buster's Uncle on October 29, 2014, 06:29:28 pm

They're big directed bombs, and occasional undirected events are inevitable.