Rumors have swirled for some time that Blackhawk Products Group has been for sale. A recent article by “The Deal Pipeline” confirms this. Brazos Private Equity Partners LLC was seeking to purchase the company but Blackhawk withdrew from negotiations over pricing issues last Thursday. The deal was to be financed with an estimated $80 million debt package provided by GE Capital Corp and Chicago’s Madison Capital Funding LLC, with a $20 million mezzanine debt piece from Golub Capital. Wachovia Securities (owned by Wells Fargo) has been serving as Blackhawk’s financial adviser and seeking buyers for the company.
This indicates two things about Blackhawk; how much the market feels the company is worth and the fact that Blackhawk doesn’t agree with this assessment. Over the last year the soldier systems industry has experienced numerous buyouts with manufacturers such as Eagle Industries, Tactical Assault Gear, and OTB Boots going to larger companies who are using the purchases to foray into this market.
The French Army has just released a new version of their combat uniform. Based on operational feedback from numerous Afghanistan deployments, the “Tenue de Combat Nouvelle Génération” features a new, rip-stop fabric. Referred to in some circles as the FELIN uniform, as a nod the the French Future Soldier ensemble (Fantassin à Équipement et Liaisons Intégrés or Integrated Equipment and Communications Infantryman) it retains the Camouflage Centre Europe pattern currently in use. We have not seen a version released in the desert pattern yet.
