Special Devices Inc. to Buy Scot Inc. for $5 Million

Special Devices Inc., a Newhall-based maker of pyrotechnic devices used in automotive air bags and tactical missile systems, has agreed to acquire all the assets and operations of a Chicago-area manufacturing company.

Special Devices said the purchase price for Scot Inc. will be about $5 million.

Scot designs and manufactures aircraft crew escape components and life support equipment that are activated with pyrotechnic mechanisms, including an automatic parachute release used by the U.S. Air Force. In 1993, Scot had sales of $13.6 million.

Thomas F. Treinen, Special Devices’ chairman and chief executive, said the acquisition of Scot would give his company a larger customer base for its aerospace operations, which historically have had higher profit margins than its automotive business.

The transaction, subject to certain conditions, is scheduled to be completed in mid-August.