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PTB Industry News				March 29, 1999
Thermo Instrument Systems Completes Tender Offer for Spectra-Physics AB

WALTHAM, MA -- In late February, Thermo Instrument Systems completed its tender offer for the outstanding shares of Spectra-Physics AB. The company has purchased and received acceptances for approximately 17.3 million, or about 98 percent, of all outstanding Spectra-Physics shares. The offer was valued at around $355 million. "We are very excited about Spectra-Physics joining the Thermo Instrument family of companies," said Earl R. Lewis, president and CEO of Thermo Instrument Systems. "Our technologies are complementary, many of our products share markets and serve similar customers, and -- probably most important -- Spectra-Physics' management has good plans and ideas for the future." Spectra-Physics, based in Sweden, manufactures a variety of laser-based instrumentation systems, primarily for the process-control, industrial measurement, construction, research, commercial, and government markets. The company's 1997 revenues were approximately $432 million. Thermo Instrument Systems is a provider of analytical instruments used to identify complex chemical compounds, toxic metals, and other elements in a broad range of liquids and solids. The company also develops and manufactures instruments used to monitor radioactivity and air pollution; life science instruments and consumables; and imaging, inspection, measurement, and control instruments for industrial processes. Thermo Instrument Systems is a public subsidiary of Thermo Electron Corporation.   PTB Home