Presstek to sell Lasertel for $10 Million
November 23, 2009--Laser diode manufacturer Lasertel (Tucson, AZ) is being sold to Selex Sensors and Airborne Systems (US), Inc. (Arlington, VA) a business development, marketing and U.S. product support arm of Selex Galileo (SELEX S&AS), which in turn is part of the Italian aerospace, defense, and security conglomerate Finmeccanica.
Current Lasertel parent company, Presstek, Inc. (NASDAQ: PRST) manufactures and markets digital offset printing solutions and announced today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its wholly owned Lasertel subsidiary. The sale price will be approximately $10 million, comprised of $8.0 million in cash upon sale of the business and about $2.0 million of laser diodes for Presstek's future product requirements. The transaction is expected to close during the first quarter of 2010 and is subject to approval from certain governmental agencies in the United States and Europe. Presstek expects to use proceeds from the sale to reduce its debt.
Lasertel develops and manufactures high-power laser diodes for a variety of industries, including the graphic arts. Presstek uses these laser diodes in its digital offset presses and computer-to-plate systems.
"This sale to SELEX S&AS will place Lasertel into a large organization whose core business is closely aligned with Lasertel's mission," said Presstek Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Jeff Jacobson. "At the same time, it allows Presstek to focus on its core business and further reduce its debt. While selling Lasertel has been a key objective during the past year, we needed to ensure that we received an appropriate value for Lasertel. We are pleased that we are able to accomplish that with this sale."
In addition to the sale price and the transfer of Presstek-specific inventory, SELEX S&AS will assume the current lease on the Lasertel property in Tucson, AZ. A supply agreement will also be entered into that will provide the currently utilized laser diode product to Presstek at existing prices for a two year period.
--Posted by Steve Anderson, [email protected]; www.laserfocusworld.com.
For more information, go to www.presstek.com