Astrotech Corp. announces that it will sell the assets constituting its Astrotech Space Operations business to Lockheed Martin Corp., including the assets of its wholly owned subsidiary, Astrotech Space Operations, for $61 million.

“We are very excited about what this transaction means for our shareholders,” says Thomas B. Pickens III, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Astrotech Corp. “This represents the beginning of a new era for Astrotech Corp. as the company can now concentrate our efforts on high growth business opportunities while having the needed resources to develop and fulfill the potential of our 1st Detect mass spectrometer product line.”

Subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions, including the approval by the Astrotech Corp. shareholders, the transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2014. Upon closing, ASO will be operated as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Lockheed Martin and managed by the corporation’s Space Systems business area.

Astrotech identifies, develops, and markets space technology for commercial use. The ASO business unit serves government and commercial satellite and spacecraft customers with pre-launch services on the eastern and western range. 1st Detect Corp. is developing a miniaturized mass spectrometer, the MMS-1000, while Astrogenetix Inc. is a biotechnology company utilizing microgravity as a research platform for drug discovery and development.

Release Date: May 29, 2014
Source: Astrotech Corp. 

Photos courtesy of Lockheed Martin

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