Ottawa Says No To ATK Buyout of MDA

Ottawa rejects space firm’s sale to U.S., Globe and Mail

“Federal Industry Minister Jim Prentice confirmed Thursday morning that he has taken the unprecedented step of rejecting the planned $1.3-billion sale of Canada’s leading space company to U.S. interests, concluding that the deal would not be in the best interests of the country. Mr. Prentice’s office issued a brief statement acknowledging that, as The Globe and Mail reported, he wrote to Alliant Techsystems Inc. (ATK) on April 8, to advise them that, “based on the information received at this time, he is not satisfied that the proposed sale of MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. (MDA) to ATK is likely to be of net benefit to Canada.”

Canadian Government Rejects MDA Sale to ATK, For Now, Nano2Sol by Marc Boucher

“… And while there are jobs at stake, perhaps this case has shown the government that investing in space is important to Canada’s interests and that they should try to revive an industry that has been neglected for some time.”

House of Commons – Radarsat-2 Testimony, March 5, 2008, Nano2Sol by Marc Boucher

Radarsat-2 Commercial and Technical Documents, Nano2Sol by Marc Boucher

“With all the discussion about the sale of MDA’s space division to ATK I thought it might be useful to provide some background documents that explain what Radarsat-2 is and it’s impact. Of note, the Canadian Space Agency Departmental Performance Review for 2007 lists the total expected cost of Radarsat-2 to be $421.6 million.”