Macdonald, Dettwiler and Associates Ltd. (TSX:MDA) shareholders have voted 99.9% in favour of selling the Richmond-based company's information systems and geospatial services business.
The $1.3 billion deal would sell MDA's space-related business and assets, like the Canadarm and Radarsat-2 satellite technology, to U.S. aerospace giant Alliant TechSystems Inc.
More than 1,900 MDA employees, primarily from the company's space missions facility in Brampton, Ontario, along with about 100 employees in B.C. will be affected by the ownership change.
MDA said it was selling its space-related assets to focus on expanding its information products division, which provides real estate and financial information to industry professionals in the U.K., the U.S. and B.C.
MDA is responsible for the technology behind BC Online, which provides real estate and corporate data to the public, and the U.K.'s home information packs, which are required for any real estate sale in the U.K.
The space division sale has been criticized by specialists in Canada's space industry, who are calling on the federal government to halt the sale. The deal is expected to close some time in April, pending approval by the federal government. Industry Minister Jim Prentice has until March 22 to decide whether to approve the deal.
In the meantime, MDA has been on its own acquisition spree. In late February, it announced plans to buy a U.S. company's real estate division for an undisclosed sum. The acquisition of TransUnion LLC's real estate operations in Wilmington, Delaware, will expand MDA's ability to provide collateral valuation, property search, mortgage credit and other real estate-related services in the U.S.
In early March, MDA acquired Richards Grey Holdings Ltd., a U.K. property information firm, for an initial payment of $21.6 million. The deal is subject to customary and regulatory approval from the U.K. Office of Fair Trading.
MDA's share price range during the past week: between $46.95 and $48.09; 52-week high: $53.82; 52-week low: $37.38.