ROL - Bids Solicited for Sale of AeroTech Inc.

[Justy]

Rocketry OnLine story: Bids Solicited for Sale of AeroTech Inc.

 

[sandman]

WOW! $30,000!!!

That's a lot less than I paid for my company!!

Now you tell me!

sandman

 

[cls]

$30,000 sounds like a bargain but I haven't seen anywhere a detailed description of the assets. there are vague descriptions of "tools" and "furniture" but heck that's all stuff that could fetch upwards of $0.50 at the right garage sale.

to be sure the tooling, raw materials, accounts receivable and payable are measurable, hard assets.

the real assets are the soft ones like "goodwill": the Aerotech name, logo, patents (any unexpired??), dealer lists, suppliers, etc. most especially the experienced employees!

the other big unknown that I couldn't get from the posting is what lawsuits are outstanding, what is the risk from those, and what "right" does the buyer have to operate under the Aerotech name?

call me a skeptic but there's a reason it's low priced.



on the other hand, $30 each from our 1000 TRF members and HEY we're in business!!!!

 

[astrowolf67]

CLS,
A lot of companies being sold, or on the verge of bankruptcy have carried on like this. Usually, it becomes employee owned. Your idea is actually a great one. Unfortunately, there's just no time to do all the work needed to get something like that done. I for one, would be more than willing to invest in something like this, to ensure that the joys of rocketry that I've enjoyed, and still enjoy, can continue for generations to come. So this hobby will be here for my children, and grand children.

 

[marvSRG]

I'm not good with this kinda stuff, so someone lay it out for me. Does this mean that AT is going to be taken from Gary Rosenfield? Will he be out of the picture? What kind of stuff will we be looking for in the future from AT as a result of this?

 

[Chilly]

Well, that's the sixty-dollar (or whatever you paid for your RMS hardware) question. Sounds as if Gary Rosenfield was trying to get out from under the liabilities and start over, but the court told him it wouldn't work. So now it's pubicly up for sale and AMW sees a chance to move.

I just want the AP to keep moving. Otherwise I'll be one of those guys buying lots of 24mm cluster mounts from the good Mr. Flis.

 

[n3tjm]

Originally posted by marvSRG
I'm not good with this kinda stuff, so someone lay it out for me. Does this mean that AT is going to be taken from Gary Rosenfield? Will he be out of the picture? What kind of stuff will we be looking for in the future from AT as a result of this?

I imagine that Gary will still work there... because Paul does value his knowledge. Gary didn't handle a few thing well, and they had the quarals... but AMW recongnizes that if HPR is going to survive, the biggest supplier has to survive first. They will need to produce what sells, and produce it fast. Gary is the man for the production... and Paul is the man for the leadership.

 

[wyldbill]

Hmmm....
read this part

The Debtor has a bid from RCS Rocket Motor Components, Inc. (RCS), a Utah corporation owned by Gary Rosenfield, the owner and sole director and officer of the Debtors, to purchase the Debtor's Business for $30,000 cash plus the assumption of contractual obligations as stated in this notice.

Looks like Gary's got a bid in from one company he owns to buy the assets, but probably not the complete liabilities, of another one he owns. Keeping RCS seperate from Aerotech was a pretty good idea. Obviously this bid could be beat, but one wonders if this is an attmepted end run to allow AT to restart unencumbered.

Living up to my moniker,
-bill

 

[Stones]

Originally posted by wyldbill
...
Looks like Gary's got a bid in from one company he owns to buy the assets, but probably not the complete liabilities, of another one he owns. Keeping RCS seperate from Aerotech was a pretty good idea. Obviously this bid could be beat, but one wonders if this is an attmepted end run to allow AT to restart unencumbered.

Bill...
I'd say you nailed this one perty good. Take a look at this article.
(Dated)
RCS to Enter Hobby Rocket Motor Market

 

[eugenefl]

My main curiosity is whether or not some other company will come in and outbid RCS. Why on earth anyone else would want to remove the Aerotech label off the shelves is beyond me. On the bright side, the article does say this:

"If RCS does not win the auction, the company has made contingency plans to enter the market with a series of product offerings that are sure to be a hit with consumers. This will include reloads designed to fit seamlessly into AeroTech and other motor hardware. RCS has all federal, state and local licensing in place to begin production immediately. More information will be released after the auction takes place."

I don't think Aerotech is going anywhere - whether under the RCS name or not. I also can't imagine rocketeers supporting a motor manufacturer that would blatently put the Aerotech name away for good and then no longer produce midpower composites compatible with Aerotech hardware.

 

[wyldbill]

Originally posted by eugenefl
My main curiosity is whether or not some other company will come in and outbid RCS. Why on earth anyone else would want to remove the Aerotech label off the shelves is beyond me

Why would you think they would do that (remove the AT label)? If they bought the company, the name, motor designs, hardware designs and installed customer base would be what they were paying for. It's more likely that they'd continue the AT line, but possibly open it up a bit. See Paul's comments here ... especially

Originally written by Paul Robinson

The PARAMOUNT concern is this; that the end users who have invested in
Aerotech hardware and products be supported. and that is the delivery of
product return to the timely status it was two years ago.

I repeat, AMW's primary goal in this venture is to secure customer
investments of AT hardware with product, insuring that their investment will
not become a bad debt write off., or a wind chime!!

Originally posted by eugenefl
I don't think Aerotech is going anywhere - whether under the RCS name or not. I also can't imagine rocketeers supporting a motor manufacturer that would blatently put the Aerotech name away for good and then no longer produce midpower composites compatible with Aerotech hardware.

I'd think anyone buying AT would realize that the midpower market is important and keep supplying it. Maybe I've missed something; why do you believe that someone want to buy AT's assets to kill it? Microsoft does that, but that's a bit different story. If anyone's got the lion's share of the market here, it's AT and they're the one whose assets are on the block.

curious,
-bill

 

[eugenefl]

Originally posted by wyldbill
I'd think anyone buying AT would realize that the midpower market is important and keep supplying it. Maybe I've missed something; why do you believe that someone want to buy AT's assets to kill it? curious,
-bill

Nah Bill - I am with you 100%. I was kinda reiterating the speculation I am reading on some of the other forums and voicing my own opinion on why it doesn't make much sense. I was also speculating on some of the reasons why it would be kinda silly to follow that logic through to the end result. The mention of greed or "hostile takeover" seems to rouse interest in conversation on other forums. I see nothing but positivity and better things to come from this situation.

 

[Juerg]

I suggest you check out the discussions in the "general discussions" forum at ROL for further information.
The $30'000.- is just the opening bid for the auction, this doesn't tell anything about the final price.

Juerg

 

[Chilly]

You never know what someone else's idea of "good business" is. According to earlier postings by Gary Rosenfield over at ROL, the midpower line is almost a loss-leader. They make very little profit from it, even though they sell an awful lot. The real bucks are in HPR. He didn't say so, but AT may very well be in the mid-power market because they know it's an effective bridge to HPR (they hooked me at least!). But suppose AT gets purchased by some nearsighted moron who doesn't see it that way? It would not only dry up the E-G market, but probably wipe out their customer base, thus eventually wiping out the "new" AT. That's pure speculation, and I'm not suggesting AMW is thinking that way. But once again, you never know who else could become involved in the process and what their thinking could be. Guess we'll all find out after the auction next month...

 

[Chilly]

An addendum to my last post: Juerg is right - check out some of the recent discussion at ROL. Granted that place is starting to attract some real crackpots, but there's a pretty good alternative view of the AMW bid in there. Could be a lot of bull but it has the scent of truth.
I will attempt to choose my words very carefully here - this thread could easily tumble down the slippery slope of ROCKETRY POLITICS and I don't want to violate the TRF Prime Directive.

My time back in the hobby has been brief, but it's hard to have missed all the noise about certain events and personalities. Whether individuals, vendors, or clubs, you probably all know what I mean.

I've also mentioned before that my profession is in aviation (bear with me, I've got a point here). I know nothing about manufacturing and even less about the specific personalities involved. I left the airline business several years ago for an aviation services company because I was tired of the boom/bust/layoff cycle. I've had a ringside seat at a few bankruptcies and takeover bids. Suffice it to say that NO ONE reveals their full intentions right out of the gate. Some bidders are downright dishonest, but many just have more money than sense. And no one knows who the "silent partner" is in the AMW bid or what their intentions might be.

Again, I don't know any of the people involved, but the more of a happy face they try to paint on something the less inclined I am to trust it. That doesn't necessarily mean they're lying - often people get big ideas, are able to put some money behind it, and don't realize they're fooling themselves. Who knows for sure until it's all over? If that makes me a curmudgeon, then so be it. I've been burned as an employee too many times and this just doesn't smell right. It's my sincere hope that Gary & Joe are able to keep things going, whether under the Aerotech name or as RCS.

P.S. The positive reactions from more knowledgable TRF'ers like Carl Tulanko are making me feel a lot better about this. But I'll probably be nervous until the dust settles 'cause you just never know for sure what could happen. There are a lot of dirtbags in the airline business and I don't want to unfairly project my experiences upon the people involved in this matter. My apologies if that is the case here.