MSA Completes Sale of North Carolina Ballistic Vest Business

PITTSBURGH, Oct. 14, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- MSA (NYSE: MSA) of Pittsburgh, Pa., the leading global manufacturer of safety equipment for worker and facility protection, today announced it has completed the sale of its North Carolina-based Paraclete Armor and Equipment business to Protective Products Enterprises, Inc. ("PPE") of Sunrise, Fla. PPE provides tactical ballistic body armor to several branches of the U.S. military and is an affiliated portfolio company of Sun Capital Partners, Inc., a leading private investment firm with approximately $8 billion under management. Terms of the deal are not being disclosed.

MSA acquired Paraclete Armor of St. Pauls, N.C., in 2006 to expand the company's existing line of ballistic protection products. Since that time MSA's product strategy has increasingly focused on its "core" safety equipment product lines where the company has strong expertise, global R&D resources and vast market presence. MSA's core product focus emphasizes industrial head protection, respiratory protective equipment, fall protection products, portable gas detection monitors, and fixed gas- and flame-detection instruments. The transaction with PPE does not include MSA's ballistic helmets business.

"This sale of our ballistic vest business is something we have seriously considered for some time," said Joseph A. Bigler, President of MSA North America. "The decision to move in this direction came down to two factors: alignment with MSA's long-term business strategy to focus on those products that provide us with the greatest growth opportunities; and pursuing a course of action that we believe provides Paraclete Armor with the best opportunity for future success."

The acquisition of Paraclete Armor is an excellent fit for PPE as it will enhance and broaden PPE's current product and engineering capabilities. "Paraclete's market position in the commercial segment will augment PPE's sizeable footprint in the domestic body armor market. They bring some very unique capabilities that helps diversify our product offering as well as expand our market share," said Mike Kilbane, President of Protective Products Enterprises.