Lake Forest, IL--IDEX Corporation (NYSE:IEX) has announced its intention to acquire CVI Melles Griot (Albuquerque, NM). The companies have entered into a definitive agreement under which IDEX will acquire CVI Melles Griot from Norwest Equity Partners, a leading middle market equity investment firm, for a cash consideration of about $400 million. 

CVI Melles Griot delivers precision photonic solutions to the life sciences, research, semiconductor, security and defense markets. Its products include specialty lasers and light sources, electro-optical components, opto-mechanical assemblies, including aspheric lenses, laser mirrors, interference filters and polarizers. Its annual reveneus are about $185 million.

CVI Melles Griot will operate within IDEX's Health and Science Technologies segment as a key addition to the optics and photonics platform, which includes Advanced Thin Films (ATFilms; Boulder CO), and Semrock, (Rochester, NY).

Commenting on the acquisition, IDEX Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Larry Kingsley stated, "We are thrilled with the opportunity to add CVI to IDEX as the cornerstone to our rapidly expanding optics and photonics platform. CVI is a true leader in the field of high precision optical devices, combining leading edge products, top notch design and manufacturing capabilities with a robust management team and distribution channels that are the envy of the industry. CVI's catalogue and website are industry standards utilized by photonics engineers and scientists around the globe when seeking solutions to their most demanding photonics challenges. CVI will now join ATFilms, acquired earlier this year, and Semrock, acquired in 2008 as part of our optics and photonics platform. We look forward to significant collaboration in key areas of product design and production capabilities as we realize strategic selling and operating synergies. We believe the CVI Melles Griot group, Semrock and ATFilms have precisely the type of enabling technology which binds them to their customer and aligns well with IDEX's growth plans and operating model." 

Speaking on behalf of CVI and Norwest, CVI's Chief Executive Officer, Stuart Schoenmann said, "We are truly excited to see CVI become a part of the IDEX family. IDEX has demonstrated a strong commitment to its Life Sciences business segment and a sustained focus on growing the optics and photonics platform. We are proud to become an integral part of this expansion, and we are very pleased with the opportunity to collaborate with market leaders such as Semrock and ATFilms."

The transaction is subject to regulatory approval and other customary conditions and is expected to close within 30 to 45 days.

For more information visit IDEX online

Posted by: Steve Anderson
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