Astrotech Explores Sale of 1st Detect Subsidiary
Astrotech announced that its board of directors has approved a potential sale process of its 1st Detect Corporation subsidiary, developer of the TRACER 1000 mass spectrometry-based explosives and narcotics trace detection platform. The company is evaluating a potential sale to provide additional capital for the previously announced lunar mining initiative the company is committed to building. "There are rare moments when a detection platform holds regulatory validation, government-backed development support, years of field operating history, and a clearly emerging market need at the same time and we believe 1st Detect now holds all four," said Thomas Pickens III, chairman and CEO of Astrotech. "The TRACER 1000 is no longer an emerging technology. It is a field-proven, certified, next-generation ETD platform standing at the front of the industry's transition from legacy IMS to mass spectrometry. The Board believes the right path to unlock that value for shareholders, may be a sale to a strategic or financial buyer capable of accelerating commercialization and worldwide deployment."
