General Dynamics

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General Dynamics (NYSE: [GD]) is a defense conglomerate formed by mergers and divestitures, and as of 2005 it is the sixth largest defense contractor in the world[2005 Defense News Top 100]. The company has changed markedly in the post-Cold War era of defense consolidation. The company has three main business segments, Marine, Combat Systems, and Information Systems and Technology.

Contents

1 Marine Systems
2 Combat Systems
3 Information Systems & Technology
4 Aerospace
5 History

5.1 Legacy and Acquisitions
5.2 Divestitures

6 Corporate governance
7 Financials
8 References
9 External links

Marine Systems

American Overseas Marine Corporation
Bath Iron Works
Electric Boat
National Steel and Shipbuilding

Combat Systems

General Dynamics Land Systems
* M1 Series Abrams Main Battle Tank
* M1A2 Series Abrams Main Battle Tank
* Advanced Amphibious Assault Vehicle
* Heavy Assault Bridge program
* Crusader Self-Propelled Howitzer
General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products
General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems
General Dynamics European Land Combat Systems
* Steyr-Daimler-Puch

Information Systems & Technology

Aerospace

Gulfstream Aerospace

History

Legacy and Acquisitions

1899 - Electric Boat was established and became General Dynamics in 1952
1946 - Canadair purchased from the Canadian government
1953 - Convair merged with General Dynamics
1971-1985 David S. Lewis, Jr., was chairman and chief executive officer. During his tenure, General Dynamics’ revenues and earnings quadrupled.
1982 - Formed General Dynamics Combat Systems after the acquisition of Chrysler's combat systems
1995 - Acquired Bath Iron Works from Prudential Insurance, established in 1890
1996 - Acquired Teledyne Vehicle Systems.
1997 - Acquired Lockheed Martin Defense Systems and Lockheed Martin Armament Systems.
1997 - Acquired Advanced Technology Systems, formerly an operating unit of Lucent Technologies.
1997 - Acquired Computing Devices International, formerly a division of Ceridian Corporation.
1998 - Acquired National Steel and Shipbuilding, established in 1905
1999 - Acquired Gulfstream Aerospace from Forstmann Little, the company was founded in 1958
2001 - Acquired Galaxy Aerospace Company from Israeli Aircraft Industries (IAI)
2001 - GD Decision Systems formed (and later merged with General Dynamics C4 Systems) after acquisition of Motorola's Integrated Information Systems Group
2002 - Acquired Advanced Technical Products
2003 - Acquired GM Defense from General Motors
2003 - Acquired Steyr Daimler Puch Spezialfahrzeug (SSF) from an Austrian investor group, which bought the company in 1998 from the Steyr-Daimler-Puch-conglomerate. SSF is now part of "General Dynamics European Land Combat Systems" which includes also the Spanish Santa Bárbara Sistemas and the Swiss MOWAG, and has its headquarters in Vienna, Austria.
2003 - Acquired Veridian.
2004 - Acquired Spectrum Astro.
2006 - Acquired Anteon International.

Divestitures

Coal mining
Building materials
Limestone
Concrete
1976 - Canadair sold back to the Canadian government
1991 - Data Systems Division outsourced to Computer Sciences Corp.
1992 - Tactical Missiles Division to Hughes Electronics.
1992 - Cessna to Textron
1993 - Fixed wing military aircraft to Martin Marietta
1993 - Space Systems Division to Martin Marietta
1994 - Convair's aerostructures unit to McDonnell Douglas, (Convair closed in 1996).

Corporate governance

Current members of the board of directors of General Dynamics are: Nicholas Chabraja, James Crown, Lester Crown, William Fricks, Charles Goodman, Jay Johnson, George Joulwan, Paul Kaminski, John Keane, Lester Lyles, Carl Mundy, and Robert Walmsley.

Financials

General Dynamics has about $12 billion in sales, primarily military, but also civilian with its Gulfstream Aerospace unit and conventional ship-building and repair with its National Steel and Shipbuilding subsidiary.

In 2004 General Dynamics bid for the UK company Alvis Vickers, the leading British manufacturer of armoured vehicles. In March the board of Alvis Vickers voted in favour of the £309m takeover. However at the last minute BAE Systems offered £355m for the company in what was seen as a move to keep General Dynamics out of its "back yard". This deal was finalised in June 2004.

General Dynamics has tried to acquire Newport News Shipbuilding but been blocked by regulators and competitors, as this would make General Dynamics the sole manufacturer of nuclear-powered ships in the United States.

Controlled subsidiaries of the corporation are donors to the Canadian Defence and Foreign Affairs Institute ^[link].

Current stock price as of 2005-02-04 is $63, after splitting in 2006-03-26.

References

[Patents owned by General Dynamics Corporation]. US Patent & Trademark Office. URL accessed on 5 December 2005.

External links

General Dynamics Corporation

Annual Revenue: .4 billion USD ( 23% FY 2004) | Employees: 70,200 | Stock Symbol: NYSE: [GD] | Website: [www.gendyn.com]

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