The security company formerly known as Blackwater is looking for new ownership, announcing Monday that it is pursuing a sale of the company that became famous for its involvement with the U.S. government in Iraq and elsewhere. The Moyock, N.C.-based company now called Xe Services announced its decision in a brief statement that gave few details.
"Xe's new management team has made significant changes and improvements to the company over the last 15 months, which have enabled the company to better serve the U.S. government and other customers, and will deliver additional value to a purchaser," the statement said.
Owner and founder Erik Prince said selling the company is a difficult decision, but constant criticism of Xe helped him make up his mind. "Performance doesn't matter in Washington, just politics," he said.
The private company became infamous as Blackwater, which provided guards and services to the U.S. government in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere. It became one of the biggest defence contractors in the world, but it also attracted criticism over its role in those missions.
It has been trying to rehabilitate its image since a 2007 shooting incident in Baghdad that killed 17 people, outraged the Iraqi government and led to federal charges against several Blackwater guards. The accusations later were thrown out on a technicality after a judge found that prosecutors mishandled evidence. In March, Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin suggested the Pentagon should consider banning Xe from a $1 billion deal to train Afghan police. He said he thought the company's involvement was hindering the U.S. mission in Afghanistan. The announcement comes less than 3 months after Xe sold its aviation division for $200 million to AAR Corp in a bid to boost Xe's balance sheet.
More recently, five former executives, including Gary Jackson, the company's ex-president, were indicted on charges of conspiring to violate US firearms laws. Jackson was among the top officials who left the company last year.
"Xe's new management team has made significant changes and improvements to the company over the last 15 months, which have enabled the company to better serve the U.S. government and other customers, and will deliver additional value to a purchaser," the statement said.
Owner and founder Erik Prince said selling the company is a difficult decision, but constant criticism of Xe helped him make up his mind. "Performance doesn't matter in Washington, just politics," he said.
The private company became infamous as Blackwater, which provided guards and services to the U.S. government in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere. It became one of the biggest defence contractors in the world, but it also attracted criticism over its role in those missions.
It has been trying to rehabilitate its image since a 2007 shooting incident in Baghdad that killed 17 people, outraged the Iraqi government and led to federal charges against several Blackwater guards. The accusations later were thrown out on a technicality after a judge found that prosecutors mishandled evidence. In March, Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin suggested the Pentagon should consider banning Xe from a $1 billion deal to train Afghan police. He said he thought the company's involvement was hindering the U.S. mission in Afghanistan. The announcement comes less than 3 months after Xe sold its aviation division for $200 million to AAR Corp in a bid to boost Xe's balance sheet.
More recently, five former executives, including Gary Jackson, the company's ex-president, were indicted on charges of conspiring to violate US firearms laws. Jackson was among the top officials who left the company last year.
Funny how you don't hear much aboutthe mercernaries in Afghanistan the same way you did about Iraq. They are there, though. Two of them were killed last week according to the news feeds.How come they are so much in the shadows now.
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