This will be interesting to watch. I would be very curious as to who would be interested in purchasing the whole nut, or the various companies within Xe? Undoubtedly, the training and aviation stuff would be profitable. It’s just the name and history that comes with all of it. So who will bite? Who is this ‘mystery buyer’ that Mr. Prince is talking about?
Also, check out Danger Room’s poll of who should buy Xe. It is actually pretty funny, and Blackfive as well as Steve Jobs are top contenders. –Matt
—————————————————————–
Blackwater Founder Erik Prince Plans Sale of Security Company
June 07, 2010
By Gopal Ratnam and Timothy R. Homan
Blackwater Worldwide founder Erik Prince is pursuing the sale of the private security company whose guards once faced charges in the fatal shootings of 14 Iraqis.
Xe Services LLC, as the closely held company is now known, said in a statement it has undergone “significant” changes in the past 15 months that will make it more valuable to a buyer. It didn’t specify the changes.
The company, whose customers include the U.S. government, is in talks with possible buyers, said a person familiar with the matter. Prince briefed employees on his plan today at Xe’s headquarters in Moyock, North Carolina, said the person, who declined to be identified because the details are private.
Prince, 40, a former Navy commando, founded Blackwater in 1997 and won contracts that included helping protect U.S. officials and embassies in Iraq and Afghanistan. U.S. lawmakers have criticized the company’s role that led to civilian deaths in Iraq.
Five former Blackwater employees won dismissal of federal manslaughter and weapons charges on Dec. 31 in the 2007 deaths of 14 Iraqi civilians in Baghdad.
The firm’s employees were linked to 195 shooting incidents from 2005 through 2008, with them firing the first shots more than 80 percent of the time, according to a 2008 report prepared by the U.S. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
Xe sold its aviation services unit to Wood Dale, Illinois- based AAR Corp., for $200 million in March. The unit provided airlift services and aircraft modifications for U.S. government customers, AAR said in a March 25 statement.
Story here.