Analogix Inc., a Burlington-based manufacturer of flash chromatography equipment used for pharmaceutical and chemical research, has been sold to Varian Inc., a Palo Alto, Calif.-based company that makes scientific instruments and equipment.
The transaction closed in November, 2007. Varian paid about $11 million cash for the company, which was owned by Nick DeMarco, its founder. Since the purchase, DeMarco has become Varian’s business manager for flash chromatography.
Corporate Financial Advisors LLC, an investment bank with offices in Milwaukee and Waukesha, was Analogix’s sole financial advisor in the transaction.
Analogix’s brand name will still exist, but the company itself is being folded into Varian’s operations, DeMarco said.
"It’s a delicate dance and difficult for a founder to fit into a large organization," DeMarco said. "You’re expected to be so much more strongly focused. But I’m quite happy. Varian made it easy to do."
When Analogix was acquired, the company had 35 employees; the company now has 31. Varian decided to discontinue Analogix’s component assembly division, which had two employees, DeMarco said. However, the company’s new owners will be devoting more resources to Analogix’s consumable products manufacturing.
"More jobs will come in because of the focus on consumables," DeMarco said. "We went from a sales force of three to 30 in the U.S., now that they will be selling our products. And I’m certain that the demand will increase."
To help meet that expected increased demand, Varian is buying new equipment with more automation capabilities, DeMarco said. Additional employees will be hired as sales increase, he said.
Although he sold Analogix for $11 million, DeMarco’s new position with Varian holds up to $4 million in incentives over the next three years, if the company meets growth goals.
"There is a significant amount of additional cash that he can realize with future performance," said Joe Froelich, managing director with Corporate Financial Advisors. "He’s helping with the integration, and with new product ideas. (With the sale) he gets to cash out and access to a global distribution network that he couldn’t build himself."
