ArmorGroup

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ArmorGroup International PLC

logo
legal form Public limited company
founding 1969
Seat London , UK
management David Barrass
Number of employees approx. 8,500
sales $ 293 million (2007)
Branch Military services

The Armor Group is in London -based private security and military companies with offices on five continents. In addition to its corporate headquarters in London, the company has other main offices in the USA , Dubai , Colombia , Russia and Japan . The ArmorGroup has customers in over 50 countries, including Afghanistan, Iraq, Nigeria and Sudan. The company itself claims that in 2007 37% of its profits were made in Iraq. In 2006 it was 49%. It is a member of various lobby associations for security and military service providers, including the International Peace Operations Association , the British Association of Private Security Companies and the Private Security Company Association of Iraq .

history

American body armor

In 1969, American Body Armor was founded in Jacksonville , Florida, specializing in the development and manufacture of protective vests . The company had to declare bankruptcy in 1992. Business operations continued under American bankruptcy law ( Chapter 11 ) until various international investors took over the company and restructured and reorganized it in 1995. The company was renamed Armor Holdings Inc.

Armor Holdings becomes Centigon

By 2001 Armor Holdings Inc. bought more than twenty companies that offer security and military services, including the Russian Alpha-A Ltd., Safariland and the US O'Gara-Hess & Eisenhardt Armoring Company . In particular, the production of special protection vehicles was reorganized. In 2005, the name Centigon , which had been used by the O'Gara-Hess and Eisenhardt subsidiary in Colombia from 1998 , now became the general name of this division and replaced the name Armor Holdings. On May 7, 2007, Centigon was acquired by BAE Systems for $ 4.1 billion through July 31, 2007. BAE decided on a global solution and passed Centigon on to Carat Duchatelet Holdings by February 26, 2008 . In March 2010, Centigon was assigned to the company's third division, the Carat Security Group .

ArmorGroup

In 1996, Armor Holding took over Defense Systems Limited (DSL), which was active in the field of military services. DSL was incorporated as a subsidiary and renamed ArmorGroup .

Today's ArmorGroup International PLC was created through the sale to Granville Baird Capital Partners, a private equity firm , on November 26, 2003. In December 2004, shares in the company were traded on the London Stock Exchange ; ArmourGroup was the first military service provider whose shares were publicly traded.

On March 22, 2008, G4S , one of the largest security companies in the world, announced that it owned 58% of all ArmorGroup shares. On May 7, 2008, both companies announced that G4S was buying ArmorGroup for £ 44 million .

Areas of application

Afghanistan

On April 2, 2007, the ArmorGroup announced that it had received an order to guard the US Embassy in Kabul . The contract has a term of five years. During this time, the ArmorGroup provided security guards , is responsible for the supply of food and cleaning the dirty laundry. The company also provides explosive detection dogs. The order is valued at $ 189 million.

In autumn 2010 it was announced that the AmorGroup had hired two rival warlords as subcontractors to guard the US military airfield Shindand in 2007. One of the two (the Americans called him, unaware of his real name, after a character in the film Reservoir Dogs , the name "Mr. Pink") betrayed troop movements to the Taliban and also shot the other (the Americans named him "Mr. . White "). Then the successor and brother of Mr. White, Mr. White II, was killed in a bomb attack on his house - which was aimed at a Taliban leader - whereupon the ArmorGroup entrusted another brother (Mr. White III) with the surveillance of the base. The circumstances attracted international attention and were also presented to the US Senate .

Iraq

In Iraq, the company had offices in Modul, Baghdad and Basra. According to its own information, it is active throughout the country and protects government officials. Armor is also active in mine clearance.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. Annual report of the company from 2007 on page 6
  2. ^ Article Rent a Spy Inc. ( Memento of March 8, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) on www.southafrica.indymedia.org of November 30, 2002.
  3. Information on www.secinfo.com
  4. BAE Systems plc announces proposed acquisition of Armor Holdings Inc. (PDF), BAE Systems plc. May 7, 2007.  (English)
  5. Calvin Biesecker: BAE Outlines Integration Plans For Armor Holdings . In: Defense Daily International , August 3, 2007. Retrieved July 7, 2008. 
  6. ^ Carat Duchatelet Holdings announces the acquisition of BAE System's Centigon International , Carat Duchatelet Holdings. February 26, 2008. Accessed July 7, 2008.  (English)
  7. Article by Helen Power on www.telegraph.co.uk, March 23, 2008.
  8. Report There's a new sheriff in Kabul by David Isenberg, April 13, 2007 on atimes.com
  9. Taliban watch at the gates. In: Frankfurter Rundschau . October 8, 2010, accessed October 11, 2010 .
  10. ^ US: State Department List of Security Companies Doing Business in Iraq | corpwatch. Retrieved July 12, 2019 .