British ready to place order with Force Protection for anti-mine vehicles

A Ladson-based maker of armored military vehicles has gotten a big cash infusion and could be getting another big order soon from the United States’ biggest ally in the global war on terror.

Force Protection Inc. said late Monday it has sold 8.25 million shares of its stock in a private placement that raised $41.25 million for the cash-strapped company. The shares were sold to a group of institutional investors including insurance giant John Hancock. That group is now the company’s largest shareholder.

The sale was underwritten by investment banker C.E. Unterberg Towbin, which the manufacturer hired earlier this year “to explore and assist in pursuing strategic alternatives,” Force Protection said at the time.

“The working capital generated by this financing will allow us to maintain focus on delivering armored vehicle technology to support U.S. and coalition troops in Iraq,” Gordon McGilton, Force Protection’s chief executive, said in a statement Monday.

McGilton said the money raised from the stock sale would help the company expand its production capacity. Force Protection said last week that it plans to step up production at its Ladson plant and could triple its output by the end of the year.

The company produces one Buffalo vehicle a week, a rate it plans to double, Mike Aldrich, a Force Protection vice president, told The Post and Courier last week. Production of its Cougar model will roughly double from 20 vehicles a month to about 40, he said.

Some of that increased production may be needed to help fill a big order from the British government.

Des Browne, U.K. Secretary of State for Defence, told the British House of Commons this week that his government is “arranging to rapidly procure” about 100 of Force Protection’s Cougar vehicles.

“We expect to be able to deliver the vehicles, in batches, with an effective capability in place before the end of the year and continuing through the next six month rotations in Iraq and Afghanistan,” Browne said.

Jeff Child, a spokesman for Force Protection, said the company could not confirm any deal with the British government.

“I know it’s being discussed in the British media and government, but the actual contract has not been fully finalized,” he said.

Force Protection’s Buffalo and Cougar armored vehicles have been deployed in hot spots around the world since July 2003. The vehicles are operated by combat engineers and explosive ordnance disposal teams, and are used in detection and removal of bombs. More than 200 Buffalo and Cougar vehicles are deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The company recently passed the three-year mark with no fatalities in any of its vehicles.

Reach Michael Buettner at 937-5553 or [email protected].