The Oceanic Corporation, a Chesapeake, VA based company, was established in 1994. Glenn Rodgers III founded the corporation, which was privately owned at the time, after his retirement from Norentech Corporation.
The Oceanic Corporation was originally formed to provide ship repair services and quickly earned a Department of Defense (DOD) certified Alteration Boat Repair (ABR) designation. Among its specialties were structural welding, piping system installation and repairs, electrical, painting, rigging, machinery and dry-lock work, as well as custom sheet metal fabrication. Other divisions of The Oceanic included Habitability Installation, Industrial Contracting, and Alteration/Installation Teams (AIT). With its initial success and good return on investment the firm opened and operated facilities in California, New Jersey, Florida, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Washington.
In 1998, the company went public and its initial public offering was very successful. The stock price had risen from its initial value of $10 to its current level of $35 per share. There were currently 5 million shares outstanding. In 1999, the company issued 30-year bonds at par, with a face value of $1000 and a coupon rate of 10% per year, and managed to raise $40 million for expansion. Currently, the AA-rated bonds had 25 years left until maturity and were being quoted at 91.5% of par.
Over the past year, the Oceanic Corporation utilized a new method for fabricating composite materials that the firm’s engineers had developed. In June of last year, management established the Advanced Materials Group (AM Group), which was dedicated to pursuing this technology. The firm recruited Larry Stone, a senior engineer, to head the AM Group. Larry also had an MBA from a prestigious university under his belt.
Upon joining Oceanic, Larry realized that most projects were being approved on a “gut feel” approach. There were no formal acceptance criteria in place. Up until