Orbital Sciences President and CEO David Thompson on the left, and ATK President and CEO Mark DeYoung on the right. Photos: ATK and Orbital Sciences

[Via Satellite 01-27-2015] In separate meetings, stockholders from Orbital Sciences and Alliant Techsystems (ATK) voted to approve the merger of Orbital Sciences with ATK’s Aerospace and Defense Group originally announced April 2014.

Approximately 99 percent of the votes cast in Orbital Sciences special meeting were in favor, representing about 85 percent of the total number of outstanding shares of Orbital common stock as of the Dec. 16, 2014 record date for the special meeting. In ATK’s meeting, approximately 97 percent of votes favored the issuance of shares, which represented approximately 77 percent of the total number of outstanding shares of ATK common stock for the same date.

With clearance from the United States Department of Justice in December 2014, the merger is expected to close two weeks from now on Monday, Feb. 9. Once complete, the new company will be Orbital ATK, and will begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the ticker symbol “OA.” ATK’s sporting group will spin off as a new company named Vista Outdoor.