The Safariland Group, a Jacksonville-based maker of law enforcement and military products, said June 9 it is selling its division that produces “various crowd control solutions.”
The announcement came a day after CBS MoneyWatch reported Safariland has been increasing sales to the U.S. government in recent years, including the tear gas used to clear protesters near the White House last week.
Safariland said it is selling its Defense Technology business to that division’s management team. Terms of the sale, which is expected to be completed in the third quarter, were not disclosed.
The division’s products include “chemical agents, munitions and batons” sold to law enforcement and military agencies, the company said in a news release.
The CBS MoneyWatch report said a review of federal spending data showed Safariland generated more than $137 million in sales to the U.S. government in the last 3½ years, up from $83 million in the previous 3½years.
The report said the company and CEO Warren Kanders have been criticized by activists for sales of tear gas to the U.S. and foreign governments.
In the news release announcing the sale, Kanders said Safariland products including bulletproof vests have been saving lives of public safety professionals.
“In this year alone, Safariland products have saved the lives of 34 people who would otherwise not have returned home to their families,” he said.
The divestiture “allows Safariland to focus on passive defensive protection,” including body armor, he said.
As a private company, Safariland does not disclose financial data.
The company was part of Jacksonville-based Armor Holdings Inc. before BAE Systems bought Armor in 2007.
Kanders, former CEO of Armor, led an investment group that bought back Safariland from BAE in 2012.
The company is headquartered in the Jacksonville International Tradeport on the Northside.