Burdened by lawsuits, criminal investigations and negative publicity stemming from its private security work in Iraq and Afghanistan, Blackwater Worldwide is being put up for sale, the company has announced.
Blackwater, which changed its name to Xe Services and brought in new management last year to remake its image, is pursuing a sale in part because that overhaul has failed to change perceptions of the company, most critically inside the US government, which is its main customer.
Erik Prince, a former member of the Navy Seals and the heir to an automotive fortune who founded Blackwater Worldwide, said in a statement late on Monday that making the decision to sell the company had been difficult, but that he no longer wanted to deal with the intense criticism the business has faced.
“Performance doesn’t matter in Washington, just politics,” Prince said.
A separate statement from the company’s headquarters, in Moyock, North Carolina, said: “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 US government and other customers, and will deliver additional value to a purchaser.”
In March, Xe Services sold its aviation division, Presidential Airways, to the AAR Corp, which is based in Illinois.
Among the company’s largest remaining assets is a 2,800-hectare compound it operates at its headquarters, which includes shooting ranges, driving courses and other facilities for military and law enforcement training.
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