Divestiture of
Subsidiary to Continue Company's Strategic Refocusing on Core Space
Technology Businesses and to Improve Balance Sheet.
Dulles, VA (29 May 2001) Orbital
Sciences Corporation (NYSE: ORB) announced today that it has signed
a definitive agreement with Thales Group to sell the company's
Magellan Corporation majority-owned subsidiary and its interest in
Navigation Solutions LLC (NavSol), a joint venture with The Hertz
Corporation, for approximately $70 million. Orbital aims to close
the transaction by the end of June, subject to certain closing
conditions, and plans to use its portion of the proceeds from the
sale to reduce debt, to boost cash reserves for working capital and
for other general corporate purposes.
Mr. David W. Thompson,
Orbital's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said, "With today's
agreement to sell our Magellan subsidiary to Thales, and our
previously announced transaction to sell another subsidiary,
MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates, we have taken several major
steps in our campaign to refocus Orbital on its core space
technology businesses and to strengthen the company's financial
position as we aggressively seek to restore and increase value to
our shareholders."
"In addition, as part of Thales' broader
worldwide electronics business, Magellan should have greater
opportunities to develop the full potential of its state-of-the-art
GPS technology. Similarly, NavSol should benefit from Thales'
involvement as it continues to develop automotive services with
Hertz," Mr. Thompson added.
About Magellan
Magellan is one of the world's leading manufacturers global
positioning system (GPS) products used by outdoor recreation, marine
and automotive consumers for navigation purposes and by professional
customers for highly-accurate surveying and mapping applications.
Based in Santa Clara, CA, Magellan employs approximately 370 people
at major facilities in California's Silicon Valley and Los Angeles
areas, as well as in several other states and international
locations. NavSol is based in Plano, TX and employs approximately 75
people, primarily in Texas and Michigan.
About Thales
Group
Thales is a European leader and global front-runner in
professional electronics in three key markets: Aerospace, Defense
and Information Technology & Services. The Group employs 65,000
people worldwide, of whom 50% are based outside of France. Present
in nearly 50 countries, Thales generated revenues of 8.6 billion
Euros in 2000 ($7.9 billion*), 70% of which came from international
sales. (* Average exchange rate for 2000: 1 Euro = US$ 0.9175)
About Orbital
Orbital is one of the world's leading
manufacturers of low-cost space systems, including satellites,
launch vehicles, electronics and sensors, and satellite ground
systems. Orbital is also involved with satellite-based networks that
provide wireless data communications and high-resolution Earth
imagery to customers all around the world.
