Australia's Metal Storm seeks buyer

Australian weapons developer Metal Storm has been put up for sale after an intricate investment deal collapsed earlier this month, forcing it into administration.

The company has appointed Sydney-based insolvency specialist Dean-Willcocks Shepard Recovery & Strategy as its administrator. IHS Jane's understands that the administrators have received expressions of interest from Australian defence companies and that it is also expecting interest from abroad.

A statement issued by Metal Storm on 26 July said: "The board of Metal Storm has resolved to place [the company] in voluntary administration. ... The board hopes that the company can be successfully restructured though the voluntary administration process or its business sold as a going concern. The board will assist the administrators in any way it can."

Earlier this year Brisbane-based Metal Storm announced that Fiscal Year 2011 had seen losses of AUD6 million (USD6.2 million) and – of particular concern to the company – a 60 per cent fall in revenues to AUD1.3 million. Total accumulated losses, it said, had reached more than AUD114 million since it was established in the late 1990s. The losses are attributed to high development costs and a lack of major production orders.