Regulators OK Coherent acquisition of Excel

May 9--Federal regulators have dropped their anti-trust review of the proposed acquisition by laser specialist Coherent Inc. of Excel Technology Inc.

A notice posted today by the Federal Trade Commission indicated that regulators had granted an early end to the review of the $376 million deal.

The deal was proposed in February, with Coherent executives saying Excel would give them an advantage in materials processing and provide economies of scale in distribution, research, and supply chain.