CyberOptics Purchases Kestra

In a move designed to enhance its process control offerings, CyberOptics Corp. (Minneapolis, MN) has acquired UK-based Kestra Ltd., developer of automated optical inspection (AOI) systems. The company acquired all Kestra stock and repaid certain indebtedness for total consideration of approximately $11.5 million in cash.

Kestra is in the process of developing a new type of AOI technology based on statistical appearance modeling that can learn for itself how to recognize any object. As a result of this approach, the Kestra system currently under development should be easy to program, and its discrimination should improve the more the system is used. It will also allow pass/fail decisions to be made that are not confused by the variability found in real-world production. Plans call for completion of the first system during the second half of 1999.

CyberOptics expects to incur a significant one-time charge during the second quarter related to the R&D process for this system, which will result in a net loss for the period. Operating losses from Kestra during its development stage and early introduction period will affect the company's second half operating results, but in the absence of the Kestra transaction, the company expects to be profitable for all of 1999.