ThermoSpectra acquires microscope maker
ThermoSpectra Corp. (Franklin, MA) has bought TopoMetrix Corp. (Santa Clara, CA) for approximately $8 million in cash. TopoMetrix, which has sales offices in Germany and England, makes and sells near-field optical microscopes, atomic-force microscopes, and other scanning-probe microscopes for research and industrial applications. ThermoSpectra president Barry S. Howe said the purchase complements his company`s line of precision imaging, inspection, measurement, and temperature-control instrumentation. In related news, sister company Thermo Optek Corp. (Franklin, MA) announced it will record a third-quarter charge of approximately $8.5 million to pay for restructuring, including severance pay for between 160 and 180 employees, about 7% of its workforce. Both companies are part of Thermo Instrument Systems, a subsidiary of Thermo Electron (Waltham, MA), which is undergoing a corporate reorganization.