Friday, March 29, 2024
HometechnologyPickens' son celebrates $4 million day

Pickens’ son celebrates $4 million day

It was a multimillion-dollar day for Boone Pickens. Well, for his son.

Thomas Boone Pickens III, the billionaire oilman's youngest of four children, is the CEO of a company called Astrotech, a publicly traded holding company for several tech businesses. He's also the biggest investor, with a 20 percent stake.

Astrotech's shares jumped 61 percent Wednesday, to $2.36, after one of its subsidiaries, 1st Detect, disclosed a contract with the Department of Homeland Security. It was the best performer in the Nasdaq composite index, according to FactSet.

Astrotech shares

Pickens, who's been CEO of the Austin, Texas-based company since 2007, owns 4.1 million shares. The value of his stake jumped by $3.7 million, to $9.7 million.

1st Detect, which bills itself as a supplier of technology that detects chemicals and critical threats, said it's working with Smiths Detection to "enhance passenger and carry-on baggage screening as well as other homeland security operations."

The development contract is expected to last 24 months and will be followed by design and procurement phases, 1st Detect said.

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Financial terms of the deal weren't disclosed and an Astrotech spokesman declined to comment beyond the release.

The windfall is a pittance for the Pickens family. The elder Pickens made a fortune, now estimated at about $1 billion, from investments in oil, natural gas and nuclear power companies.

But any profit is a welcome sight these days, given the turmoil in the energy industry. The price of crude has plunged by almost two-thirds in the past two years as the surge in natural gas production, coupled with slowing demand in many economies across the globe, has led to record oil stockpiles.

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