CVI Agrees to Purchase Melles Griot

The sale marks another step out of the analytical instrument industry for centenarian Barloworld. It expects to sell its Laboratory business by year end (see IBO 2/28/07). This is CVI’s third purchase since its acquisition by Norwest in 2003. CVI acquired Optical Components in June 2005 and purchased the British firm Quality Laser Optics in April 2006.

Carlsbad, CA 5/1/07; Albuquerque, NM 5/2/07—CVI announced that it has signed an agreement with Barloworld Scientific to acquire Melles Griot. While terms of the deal were not revealed, Barloworld said that CVI will pay “a small premium over tangible net asset value” for Melles Griot. After the acquisition, which is expected to close within a few weeks, the company will be called CVI Melles Griot. CVI manufactures optical components and is a portfolio company of Norwest Equity Partners. Melles Griot, a supplier of photonics products, was purchased by Barloworld in 1988. “The Melles Griot acquisition will enable CVI to meet customer demand for high-volume laser and optical production along with complex optics and assemblies,” said Stuart Schoenmann, CEO of CVI.

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