Newport Acquires Swedish Metrology Company

IRVINE, Calif., Dec. 20 -- Newport Corp., designer of components for the fiber optic communications and semiconductor equipment markets, has acquired CE Johansson AB, a privately-held supplier of advanced metrology systems based in Sweden. Newport will integrate the acquisition with its Video Metrology Division, giving Newport a full line of three-dimensional coordinate metrology products. The amount of the transaction was not disclosed.
We believe the combined synergy and strength of the Johansson advanced 3-D coordinate measurement systems, coupled with Newport's RAM Optical video metrology technology, will position Newport as one of the most comprehensive suppliers of advanced metrology solutions in the world, said Robert G. Deuster, Newport chairman and CEO. Together, both businesses bring an important depth and breadth of experience in providing micron and submicron measurement solutions to challenging industrial applications. Our objective with this combination is for the resulting products to address the clear trend toward multisensor systems and to further enhance Newport's capabilities to embed sophisticated metrology solutions in automation applications for our prime markets.
Sales for CE Johansson are expected to be about $18 million for the year 2000. The company's results will have an immaterial impact on Newport's results for its fourth quarter ending Dec. 31, 2000, and are expected to be slightly accretive to earnings per share in 2001, Newport said.